


Redemption

by KittyKatja



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Consensual Sex, Cunnilingus, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:00:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 33,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25434295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittyKatja/pseuds/KittyKatja
Summary: Loki survived Thanos' attack. Now he must make amends to live a peaceful life on Earth among the rest of the Asgardians or spend the rest of his life in an undersea prison. Will Cassandra O'Halloran be able to help him?
Relationships: Loki/Original Female Character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

Cassandra O’Halloran piled her bright copper red hair back into a bun, trying to tame her unruly curls as she did so. Her hair was usually free and around her shoulders, but she felt today required a bit more decorum and huffed as her hair all but refused to be held back neatly. She stared at herself in the mirror, deciding this was the best that was going to happen. She then turned to her bed and began to put on the clothes that had been greenlit for her. 

Today was important because today was her first day as an Avengers agent. Since SHIELD has collapsed, a void had been created that did not need to be filled until Thanos happened, causing the topography of the world to change. Cassandra had applied to be a cultural liaison for the Avengers now that aliens were real and an entire group of them, Asgardians, was stationed in what used to be Tønsberg. Everyone knew the cultural liaisons were sent into what was now regarded as New Asgard to help the Asgardians assimilate to life on Earth considering their king, Thor, was lacking in his capacity as leader. For some reason, however, Cassandra had been handed a packet during assignments that had bright red TOP SECRET stamped on it and was told she would find out more when she arrived in New Asgard.

Once she had been given her assignment, she had a private meeting with Steve Rogers himself. He had told her that this was to be an important assignment among the Asgardians and a difficult one. She had shown promise in the training and knew how to deal with difficulties better than many of her peers had. She had felt nervous being in front of Captain America that day. The entire experience was amplified by him giving her praise based on her training scores. Steve had directed her to not open to the packet until the day she was scheduled to report to New Asgard. Something about not wanting her to be scared off. She had zoned out a little, becoming self-conscious of her hair, her size, her very existence there.

Cassandra took a deep breath and grabbed the packet off her nightstand. It had been taunting her for a week, wanting to know what this top-secret assignment was. She had known better than to open it before her day to report for duty. It may be the Avengers organization now, but it was still a baby of SHIELD and there was no way that someone was not watching her with something like this. She sat on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath, opening the seal and pulling out a picture and a profile of the Asgardian she has been assigned. She stared at the picture and all the air in her body seemed to disappear. She shook her head and dropped the picture, trying to make the words on the assignment make sense. 

Loki Laufeyson. She had not been assigned just an Asgardian. She had been assigned a traitor, a terrorist, and a trickster. She had hoped that maybe the Top Secret had been for The Valkyrie or, gods forbid, Thor himself. She had hoped she would be a liaison for them. All that praise had been buttering her up so that she would feel important to take this position and not flee from it. Surely Rogers had known that an assignment like this would make her blood feel cold when she read that name. She was American, she still remembered watching the way New York City had been decimated by the attack and who was responsible.

She only took a few more minutes to sit in shock before she picked the picture back up. It showed Loki smirking at the camera. Shouldn’t he be in jail? Why was he being reformed and allowed out and about in New Asgard? Did the Asgardians revere him as a prince still? She stuffed everything back in the envelope and gathered the rest of her things. She might as well get on with it. She still wanted her position with the Avengers and if Steve Rogers thought she could do something as important as take care of Loki Laufeyson and help with his reformation, then she could do it.

Loki set the book he had been reading down when he heard the knock on the door. Today was supposed to be the day his assigned Avengers agent came and helped him “assimilate”. He had rolled his eyes when The Valkyrie had told him of this. What was he going to do with a Midgardian teaching him anything? Him, Loki of Jotunheim. He was perfectly capable of navigating Midgard without help. Valkyrie had insisted, however, and it was to be considered part of his reparations towards the Midgardians for his attack on them a few years back.

Loki answered the door and was taken aback by what he saw. Standing on his doorstep at about an average height was a woman with coppery hair that the sun seemed to shine from instead of on. He did a quick once over of her body with his greenish eyes. The first thing he noticed was that her average height was because of a pair of impressive black boots that came up to her knees. She was wearing tight black pants, a white blouse, and a black jacket. She looked like Wanda Maximoff had dressed her. The clothes hugged a rather curvaceous frame, something he was not anticipating out of an Avengers liaison. She was staring pointedly at the ground through a set of thin rimmed glasses. Loki did not know whether to be pleased with what Midgard was offering him or disappointed due to her timidity. “You must be Cassandra O’Halloran.”

She looked up when her name was spoken, emerald green eyes with flecks of honey gold in them stared back at him. “Yes, and you must be Loki.” She took in what was before her quickly. Slicked back black hair, a pair of black pants and a black shirt and tie. He was dressed simply for him. She averted her eyes again, having always had difficulty keeping eye contact.

The contempt was not far from her voice and she did not sound like the few locals that he had encountered here. New York must have meant something to her. “I am. Please come in.” He kept his tone genial and measured. He really _was_ trying whether people believed him or not. At least The Valkyrie and Thor believed him, who else must he prove himself to? She stepped by him brusquely, nearly bumping him with the bag she was carrying with her. Loki ignored the rudeness and led her to his small living room. “Please, sit wherever you’d like.”

Cassandra took a seat on the couch while Loki stayed in the doorway, leaning against it, and crossing his arms. He watched as she dug a stack of books out of the bag, she had brought with her. She cleared her throat before speaking. “I read in your file that, according to Thor, you enjoy being self-taught. I have brought a series of books here that I feel are imperative to your reading if you want to assimilate here on Earth.”

Loki nodded. “You are correct, I am self-taught in many things.” He crossed over to the room and picked up the first book which detailed the attack on New York City and how it had devastated things there. He looked from the cover to her and she held her head up, as if she was defending her position on the book. “Interesting.”

She sniffed. “These are books that will help you understand a lot of how Earth views Asgardians, especially the dangerous ones.” New York City had definitely meant something to her. Did she lose someone? Or did she just have some weird pride about it like Stark? “However, not all of it is heavy reading. There is a cookbook in there so that you can learn to be self-sufficient. It is in metric measurements so you should not have a problem learning them.”

“Metric measurements?” He gave her a confused look and sat down the book on New York, picking up the cookbook. It was labeled as a beginner read, something to help children get into cooking. “Is there another kind of measurement?”

“Imperial. It is what the Americans use.”

“Americans?” His eyes twinkled just a little. He knew the different countries of Midgard already. He had browsed books on geography, but she was being curt and rude and if they were to work together, he was at least going to have fun with the situation.

“Americ….” She caught herself and narrowed her eyes at him. There was a flash of annoyance in them and that was fun. She sighed. “Americans are the only ones who use the imperial measurements. The rest of the world uses metric because it is more precise. I know both, being an American and living abroad I have had to learn both.”

“Well if you are to teach me to cook, should it not be in what you are more comfortable with?”

“Trust me, comfort was not built into this assignment, sir.”

Her voice came out cold and Loki pretended to shudder. “If this is how we are going to conduct ourselves, Cassandra, we might as well not continue with Steve and Banner’s experiment to assimilate the Asgardians.”

Cassandra took a moment to comport herself. “Loki, sir, you are a terrorist. I have been assigned a terrorist to assimilate. I apologize if I am being…brusque, but it is hard for me to accept the assignment and be congenial.” She stood up and gestured to the books. “Please, review these. I will be back tomorrow to begin the cooking lessons and to discuss anything you may glean from these books. I admit they are American centric and when you finish these, I will work on finding something that is European or African in nature. Possibly something on Wakanda.”

Loki nodded to her, deciding to let her leave instead of pushing her buttons more. He knew a little about Wakanda from when he had been there, but not enough to be an expert on the situation. Loki watched her leave and sighed.

Cassandra sat in her car after she left Loki’s home and put her head on the steering wheel. That had been a disaster. She tapped her forehead on the steering wheel. Surely, she would be taken off this assignment now. Probably given to one of the truly alien creatures instead of an Asgardian as punishment. She buckled herself and drove back to her tiny apartment, trying to not think about it.

She got home and pulled out her laptop and typed up the report for the first day. She had special instructions to send to a private e-mail as well as to her director. She suspected the private e-mail was being sent to either Rogers, Stark, or Banner. She typed up the e-mail quickly since the meeting had been very short and sent it off. She did not leave out anything, not even her snippy attitude, maybe if she tried doing radical honesty with them, they would see she was not fit to be the liaison for Loki.

Morning came and no e-mail about reassignment had arrived. Instead a simple “Good job Ms. O’Halloran. Please continue with the assignment. -- Steve.”

She slammed her laptop closed and crossed her arms. That meant today she would have to begin teaching Loki more in depth. She glared at the laptop as if that were the cause of all the problems she was facing. She had tried for the past ten years to get in with SHIELD and the Avengers, which was much harder when you were merely human. Once she had gotten her master’s in history the doors had all but blown open for her. She had started by documenting and preserving information on members of the Avengers and then had been reassigned to this project.

This project. This was going to be a lot harder than she had anticipated, but again, Captain America thought she could do it so maybe she could. She packed up her things and decided she might as well head over to Loki’s now. He would be expecting her at 1 and she needed to take him shopping, of all things, because she just had to get someone who had been waited on hand and foot as a child.


	2. Chapter 2

Loki looked up from _The People’s History of the United States_ when he heard the doorbell ring. He checked his watch and made a small noise. It was 1pm, that must be Cassandra O’Halloran at the door for their meeting. Today was something about cooking and shopping. He was not sure why he needed this particular skill set, but Valkyrie had approved it and had said something about him being a spoiled prince. He had not taken kindly to that.

When he opened the door, he was surprised to see that her hair was not in the same tightly held bun that it had been in the day before. Instead it was loose, hanging just past her shoulders in wild curls. She was wearing jeans that hugged her hips and a button up blue blouse that was tucked firmly into the jeans. She was wearing the same knee-high boots that gave her at least four extra inches of height. She pushed her glasses up her nose and looked up at Loki’s face. “Good afternoon. Are you ready, sir?”

“Please, do not call me sir.” He smiled at her, trying once again to be genial. If they had to do this there was no sense in adding fuel to flames. “Call me Loki.”

He watched as she processed the information and nodded. “Are you ready, Loki? I made a list for the recipe that I wanted to show you today so that it will be an easy shopping trip.”

“Is shopping a common thing for Midgardians to do?”

“Very few of us have servants or people to do our shopping, so yes, it is very common.”

“Well, please, lead the way Ms. O’Halloran.”

“Cassandra will do fine.” She led the way outside and Loki noticed which car beeped when she hit the unlock button. He picked up his pace and grabbed the driver side door before she could get to it, pulling it open for her. She looked like she was going to say something but then snapped her mouth shut. He arched an eyebrow at her but received nothing more than a thank you in return.

Loki attempted to make small talk on the drive to the store, but Cassandra didn’t bite. She gave short answers regarding his reading, the politeness in her tone forced. He frowned but quit pushing after ten minutes or so. She viewed this assignment much differently than he did, her life didn’t depend upon it while his did.

The store shopping seemed to go well. Everything was perfectly fine until the look of terror on the cashier’s face when they realized who they were dealing with. The cashier was flustered and became doubly so when Loki was completely polite, even thanking them. The cashier spoke up, “Aren’t you, Loki?”

Loki smiled a bit, loving the recognition. “Yes, I am.” He watched as the cashier quickly bagged the groceries in the reusable grocery bags, suddenly wanting nothing to do with polite conversation. Loki turned to Cassandra when the interaction was done. “Was that normal?”

Cassandra arched an eyebrow. “Remember, you’re still a terrorist to most people. Of course that was a normal reaction for him to have. To get you out of his lane as fast as possible.”

Loki nodded and choose to not say anything. She was right, he did terrorize earth six years ago. He just hoped he could prove to her that he was trying to change because the last thing he wanted was to be thrown into the Raft.

When they arrived back at Loki’s they put away the groceries and the other things that she had insisted that he needed in his kitchen. Loki watched her pull out the ingredients to follow one of the recipes that they had agreed on in the book. She then bluntly handed him everything and stepped back. “Just follow what’s written there, I will answer any questions you have.”

Loki looked at her incredulously. “You expect me to do this with minimal help?”

“Yes, it’s not hard. Children can follow that cookbook.”

“You are supposed to be my guide in all of this I thought.”

“Which is why I will be right here.” She crossed her arms and looked away from him. It was becoming obvious to both that they were ill suited to the task that had been assigned them, but they were both too stubborn to let it fail.

They struggled through the evening getting the recipe right. She was sure that Loki could feel her ire coming off her, but she didn’t know how to stop it. Finally, he threw the kitchen towel down and looked at her, causing her to jump a little “Cassandra, this is day two of this social experiment and listen to the two of us.”

She sighed and pulled her glasses off, rubbing her eyes. “I know, I just…You murdered so many people!”

“Yes, I did.” He leaned against the counter, crossing his arms. “But I also saved a lot of people very recently.”

“Yes, Asgardians. You had no regard to human life.”

Loki nodded; he didn’t disagree with her there. “You are right.”

Cassandra looked shocked and didn’t know how to respond to him agreeing with her. She opened her mouth to say something and stopped several times. Finally stating, “So are you telling me that you truly regret some 150 people that were killed by your actions?”

Loki tipped his head in the affirmative again. “Yes, I do. I was under the shadow of other powers that were controlling me when I invaded earth. Thanos’ strings were attached to the things that I did. I paid dearly for it with many months in the dungeons of Asgard and this.” He untucked his shirt and showed her the stab wound that Dr. Strange had been able to get healed quickly. There was a scar that ran from his rib to his hip.

Cassandra stared at the scar for longer than necessary noticing pale skin and a set of abs that she wished she could touch just once. She quickly averted her eyes. “That doesn’t mean you are absolved of what you did.”

“I know that, which is why I’ve agreed to this insane assignment to assimilate. If the assignment fails, I go to the undersea prison.” A silence fell between them that lasted several minutes before Cassandra turned to go. Loki sighed. “Wait, I understand that this is difficult to accept. What if I am just playing a trick? What if I’m trying to take over again?”

She nodded at him. “Precisely. I find it difficult to trust you.”

“Don’t trust me, trust Captain Rogers. This whole experiment is his idea.”

She worried her bottom lip, her brow furrowing. Trusting Captain Rogers was a different prospect altogether. Of course she trusted him, he was their leader in this mess considering Tony had disappeared to live a family life. She uncrossed her arms and looked back up at Loki. “I will try to do better. I will try to give you the benefit of the doubt going forward.”

Loki nodded. “That is all that I request.” He nodded his head towards her and then jumped. “Oh, no I think the food is burning.”

Cassandra laughed and shook her head. “New lesson, how to order takeout.”

Loki laughed with her and sighed. “I think you’re in for a difficult time if you intend to teach me how to cook, Cassandra. I’m very familiar with takeout, or just dropping in on Valkyrie.”

Cassandra didn’t bother to stay for the pizza that Loki ordered. She probably should have, to discuss the books he was reading, but she couldn’t bring herself to be around him much longer. Yes, she was going to try and trust him more, but that was going to take time. She still remembered seeing the aliens invading New York City live on television six years ago. She shook the memory from her head and stared at Loki’s front door for a long moment before pulling away.

Once she was home, she dug in her fridge for a snack, finding a pudding cup, and sat on the couch. The apartment was a quarter the size of Loki’s house and that was saying something considering all the Asgardians had relatively small living quarters. She stuffed a spoonful of pudding in her mouth and went over the day. She needed to type up her report to send off to Captain Rogers and her director, but she just couldn’t be bothered.

She flipped the television on, listening to a report on a monument that was to be built to all the people who had been missing since The Event. She quickly turned the television back off, she didn’t need to hear about that right now. She had lost several friends and luckily her family was already gone so she hadn’t been worried about losing them. Maybe Loki was right, and her anger should be directed towards Thanos like his seemed to be. Maybe she should be kinder and a bit more open to her assignment.

Loki kicked his shoes off and leaned back on the couch. The pizza was too greasy and wasn’t hitting the spot that he thought it might. He had hoped that Cassandra would stay so that they could have a conversation about the things she kept wanting to say but not saying. He hoped she didn’t think he was oblivious to her checking him out either. He had watched her eyes rake over his stomach and had caught a hint of desire behind her emerald eyes. He could see her trying to hide things from him, things she probably considered were not pertinent to living on Earth.

He hoped that the conversation with Cassandra would help and that maybe she’d be a bit more amicable considering his life was on the line with this assignment. They had a month until he was supposed to be interviewed by Agent Romanov as a progress report. He thought about going to visit Thor, but he was deep in depression over Thanos having succeeded at wiping out half of the population along with his ex-girlfriend, Jane. He could talk to Valkyrie but she viewed him as a fly that buzzed about and annoyed her too often when he would try and help her try and lead the remaining Asgardians.

So instead Loki sat in his house brooding over how he was going to prove to Cassandra and Natasha that he had changed. That he was trying his best to be an upstanding citizen. He wanted to help find a way to bring back the billions of humans and Asgardians that had been lost but he didn’t know how to show that to anyone. He stretched, tucking his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling, because he was stuck in Norway and of no use to anyone here.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loki gets a little rough in this chapter, as a warning. Nothing too violent, but just thought you should know.

It had been a full month since she had started this assignment and Cassandra felt she was no closer to getting Loki into society. Humans still shied away from him, but that was to be expected. He picked up cooking with relatively few disasters, baking was a complete failure. The problem, however, was that once she gave him one book he wanted more. His second bedroom in his little house was filling up with the books she kept bringing to him. He liked the idea of a library but wanted to keep the books for himself because he kept going back and devouring book after book. Cassandra had accepted this fact and frequently took him to the bookstore to pick out novel.

She looked at herself in the mirror, her coppery hair was a mess per usual. She was wearing a t-shirt that had a depiction of Minnie Mouse on it and a pair of snug fitting jeans that naturally gapped at the waist because she rarely found pants that fit her hips and waist. Today she opted for her tennis shoes instead of the boots she regularly wore around Loki. She liked feeling taller, especially around him. It made her feel like she had some control over the situation. Today, however, she felt like being a little more herself and less the Avengers Agent who was guiding him.

Loki was in his living room, head in hands, trying to make sense of the dream he’d had. He wanted to call Cassandra and cancel today’s meeting, but they were so close to the review where Agent Romanov would visit that he knew they couldn’t. He would just have to shake the images of Cassandra stretched out on his black sheets from his head. Even though he was getting increasingly curious about what was under her clothes. He had not expected to begin to develop any sort of feeling towards her, but here he was with sexual feelings to boot.

He jumped when he heard the knock on the door, normally he heard the tapping of the boots coming up the steps first. He opened the door, knowing he looked slightly disheveled for him. His shirt was unbuttoned, revealing his chest and scar. Cassandra looked up and quickly turned pink, looking away. “Have I come at a bad time, Loki?”

“No, I’m just behind schedule. Come in.” He stepped aside, beginning to button up his shirt. He had noticed the slight blush and bookmarked that to have fun with later. He watched as she walked past him, a full four inches shorter than usual. “You’re not wearing those boots you always wear.”

“I felt like being, uh, comfortable today.”

“So those shoes you wear are uncomfortable?”

“I mean, sometimes they can be.” She shrugged.

“Then why wear them?”

“Because I like to pretend that I’m taller than I am.” She laughed, a rare thing for her to do and Loki smiled because the sound made him feel warm, tugging at something inside of him that he was certain hadn’t existed before. He brushed it aside as he watched her stretch herself up a little taller.

“Well, one way you could be taller is to hold your head up, Cassandra. I’ve noticed you have a tendency to look at the ground, especially when talking to others. Be proud of what you are going to say, girl.” His tone came out a bit harsher than it had been, but he was needling her intentionally because of her mere presence unsettling him today.

Her head snapped up and there was fire in those green and gold eyes. Her nostrils flared as she snapped, “I will not be referred to as a girl when I have not been one for a very long time, Frost Giant.”

Loki’s own eyes flashed back at her. “What did you say?” His voice went cold.

“I called you a Frost. Giant.” She hissed the words back at him.

“Oh, you think yourself my better? You are nothing more than a proverbial suck up who wishes to prove yourself to your betters. You will never prove yourself to me, little girl.”

Cassandra looked like the wind had been taken out of her and her eyes narrowed. She actually took a step forward, throwing her shoulders and head back. “Listen to me closely, Loki Laufeyson. I will not be trifled with by _you_. You seek to proclaim yourself better than everyone without actually putting in any actual work towards it.”

“That is because I _am_ better.” He reached out without thinking and grabbed her by the hair, digging his fingers into the tangle of curls and pulling just a little. He took a brief second of pleasure in the feel of having her in his hands before snarling, “I will always be better, even when I am fully reformed, I am better than a human.”

She had gasped when he grabbed her. “Loki!” They had never gone so far in their quips to each other before, never been within a foot of each other either. Loki watched as her hand went for her non-existent boot and realized she was grappling for a weapon. Before he could pull back, she slapped him across the face as hard as she could muster.

Loki put his hands up quickly, stepping back from her. “Cassandra, I’m sorry.” He immediately looked contrite and apologetic, rubbing his now sore jaw. “I’m in a bad mood and I think...”

“We went too far.” She finished his sentence and backed up a bit from him. “I apologize. I shouldn’t have called you a Frost Giant. It was me being intentionally rude and unnecessary.”

Loki nodded. “I won’t refer to you as girl again. Please…sit.”

Loki noticed her hands shaking and he stepped forward, slowly this time, and grabbed them. “Please, Cassandra, look at me.” She looked up at him, all her timidity back in place. “Truly I apologize deeply. I will never do that to you again.”

Cassandra nodded. “I know you won’t.”

He wasn’t sure how she could be so sure as to place her trust like that in him, but he was willing to let that train of thought go. “Please, have a seat, I will get you a drink.”

She sat on the couch and waited for him to come back with a cold soda. He handed her the can and watched as she did a double take at the can. “Dr Pepper. You said you didn’t like this stuff. Didn’t care for the fizziness.”

“Yes, but you like it.” He sat in the chair, away from her. “So, I keep it on hand for you since you are over so often.”

Cassandra gave a small smile. “Thank you, Loki. That’s really kind.” She opened the soda and took a sip before turning towards him.

He cut her off before she could speak again. “I’m so sorry, Cassandra. I shouldn’t have grabbed you. I was way out of line.”

She nodded. “I accept your apology, Loki. I’m just glad you didn’t decide to use magic on me.”

Loki looked shocked, the idea of _actually_ hurting her hadn’t crossed his mind. He had just been looking to gain control of the situation. “It didn’t even cross my mind to use my magic against you.”

Cassandra looked at him and studied him for a second. “I believe you, now let’s get started on the questions that Agent Romanov is probably going to be asking you.”

They worked together for over two hours, going over the books and things she had been having him read. They had been a mixture of political and historical with a bit of philosophy thrown in. Loki had grasped all the concepts quickly and easily. Cassandra wrapped up and told him that she’d be early the next day to work on baking one last time. His meeting with Agent Romanov was in the afternoon.

Loki saw her out, locking up behind her. He ran a hand through his hair and cursed himself for the colossal fuck up that he done. Surely she would be sending an immediate report to whoever she reported to and no matter how well the meeting with Romanov went tomorrow he would be sent off to the prison and never see the light of day again. He couldn’t stand the thought of being locked up again, especially somewhere where he didn’t have someone like Frigga looking after him and making sure he had basic comforts.

Loki paced his house as he tried to think of a way to mitigate the situation. To remedy his mistakes. He came up with nothing and eventually laid in his bed, his thoughts drifting to how soft those mess of red curls had felt in his hand and the little gasp she had made. He found it hard to believe that after all these years a human was awakening these feelings in him. Thor would never let him live that down.

Cassandra left feeling off. She believed Loki was sorry for grabbing her like that, she wished he hadn’t because now it had to go in the report. Or did it? She worried her bottom lip on the drive back to her place. She knew she should report that he still had a violent outburst, but she had provoked him. Not to mention the feel of his hand in her hair hadn’t been completely unwelcome.

She sighed as she walked into her apartment. She knew most of her classmates had already wrapped up their assignments but theirs had been simple assimilation. She tossed her purse and keys on the couch on the way to the bedroom. She kicked her tennis shoes off and caught a glance of herself in the mirror. She sighed and grabbed at her stomach, frowning. At least she didn’t have the problem two of her classmates had, which was their assignments developing sexual interest in them. She knew that Loki wouldn’t go for someone like her and that was a comfort in a way.

She stopped her train of thought suddenly and grabbed at her hair where he had tangled his hand in it earlier. “Oh no.” She whispered, realization washing over her. If he had wanted to just scare her, he could have grabbed her by the throat, he opted for her _hair_. He did something covert by grabbing at her hair and tugging it. He just couldn’t have sexual feelings for her, he just _couldn’t_.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! The thing you all wanted that you didn't know you wanted

Today was the day that Natasha Romanov would come and check on Loki’s progress and see how he was doing. Cassandra was nervous, she had only met Agent Romanov the one time and it had been intimidating. She tried to not think about that or the incident with Loki the day before as she pulled on her knee-high boots, making sure her knife was securely in there this time. She wasn’t going to make the mistake of not being prepped in case Loki lost his cool again.

She then fluffed her hair one last time in the mirror, trying to not think of Loki tangling his hand in it more gently this time. Her dreams had been plagued with thoughts like that and it was unsettling. “There is no way he likes _you_.” She told her reflection in the mirror. “He is a god. Remember that.”

Cassandra then grabbed her keys and purse to head to the store. She had told Loki she would be early so that they could work on baking one last time. It wasn’t a necessary skill for him to learn, but it irked her that she wasn’t able to get him to master it in anyway. She grabbed box cake mix, premade frosting, and the rest of the ingredients necessary. Box cupcakes should be easy, and he should absolutely be able to nail this.

She knocked on the door when she got to Loki’s, bracing herself to see him. Prior to the incident the day before she had been softening towards him. He had pushed a few buttons with a doppelganger trick or two, but nothing like yesterday when he had pulled her hair for their snipping at each other. She looked up when Loki opened the door. He was dressed impeccably in his black pants, black shirt, and a green tie. He had listened to her about the pop of color brightening up his look.

“Cassandra, come in.” He gave her an amiable smile and stepped aside.

“Loki.” She nodded a little, her own tone had softened towards him, but she was still guarded, expecting trickery or attitude.

“What do we have in store today?” He asked as she walked past him, carrying the reusable grocery bags.

“Box cake mix. Everything you need so that you only have to measure your wet ingredients.”

“Ah, still determined that I learn how to bake something. Has it occurred to you that I may not be able to master such a skill?”

She nodded. “It has, which is why this will be our third and final attempt into the foray of baking. It’s a boxed mix, which means you should be able to follow instructions quite well.”

Loki shrugged. “Let us try then.”

She set everything out on the kitchen counter. The chocolate cupcake mix, the premade frosting, eggs, and oil before going after the equipment. “Read the back of the box, Loki.”

Loki read over it and was able to mix together the ingredients in the order that they box said. He even remembered to set a timer this time on the cupcakes. Box cake mix might be the only way he’d ever successfully bake. “Well, this seems to be going better than last time.”

Cassandra laughed. “Yes, there isn’t a burning smell and you’re not covered in flour. Wearing black while messing with flour is probably not the best idea.”

“Black is my aesthetic. Well, that and some green…maybe gold.” He smiled. “I have to have something even if I am becoming more Midgardian.”

“Earth. Earthling. We don’t call it Midgard remember?”

“Yes, yes I remember. But it’s still Midgard to me.” He shrugged and leaned against the counter, hands in his pockets as they waited for the timer on the cupcakes. “I read that book you suggested on China and how they became a communist nation.”

“And? Any thoughts?”

“Communism does not seem like a bad form of government, honestly. Your people crave regulation and order.”

“Try telling that to my fellow Americans.” She sighed. This was a familiar disagreement between the two of them. The political aspects of many of the world. Cassandra was staunch democratic socialist, believing the state should take care of the people, but that the people still had control. Loki felt that the state should control the people entirely. At least he agreed with her that capitalism was a bane on human society.

“I know, something about craving their freedoms and everything that even has a hint of socialism or capitalism is abhorrent to them.” He smiled at her, noticing her shift a little when he did so. It was a subtle shift, but she leaned back away from him, her hands gripping the counter she was against. He narrowed his eyes a bit, watching her subtle movements, her head turning from him and looking at the ground. Something he had noticed her doing when she was nervous or shying away from a topic. She had never shied away from politics though.

She jumped when the timer went off for the cupcakes and rushed to the oven to pull them out and check them. Loki smirked when she bent over, admiring what he saw. Her jeans were always hugging her hips and gave him a nice view when she bent over to pull things out of the oven. He couldn’t hide that he was attracted to her from himself anymore. Not after another night of dreams, the hair tug, the fact that right now all he wanted to do was pull her into the bedroom and show her what a night with a god would be like.

Cassandra turned around, smiling. “You did it, Loki!” His eyes snapped to her face quickly and he regretted that, seeing her smile at him so proud reminded him of the times he had made Frigga happy and he felt an urge to wrap Cassandra up in his arms.

He looked over at his work and nodded. “Well they definitely look…brown.”

“They’re chocolate, of course they’re brown.” She shook her head at him. “We have to wait at least a half hour. So, what would you like to do?”

She always hated asking him that question and he knew it. He gave a mischievous grin. He knew what he wanted to do, but he wasn’t going to tell her outright that he wanted to kiss her. Instead he shrugged. “Perhaps we can go over more politics?”

Cassandra sighed and nodded. “Alright, go.”

The thirty minutes turned into an hour-long disagreement on the finer points of her democratic socialist position in which she finally threw her hands up. “You win, Loki. I don’t feel like arguing anymore minutia with you.”

Loki chuckled. “Oh, well, I think the cupcakes are probably cooled by now so we can do what ever the next step is.”

“Frosting them. I bought premade frosting, so it’ll be incredibly easy.”

Loki stood close to her as she showed him how to frost the cupcakes. He heard her breath catch when he bumped against her and suppressed a grin. The two of them frosted in silence after the casual touch, Cassandra’s hands were shaking a little. Loki looked at her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Cassandra?”

She jumped when he touched her and set down the cupcake she was frosting and looked up at him. “Loki.” Her green eyes locked on his, one of the few times that they had.

“You’re shaking, Cassandra. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I am? I didn’t notice.” She turned back to the cupcakes, shrugging his hand off.

Loki pulled his hand away and grabbed one of the cupcakes. “Should we taste them?” She was always hesitant to eat in front of him. Even though she had taught him how to cook and was teaching him baking, she preferred to take her meals elsewhere. He thought it might have something to do with her size, judging by what he had learned over the past few months of this worlds view of women’s bodies.

She hesitated before speaking. “Yea. This is your first success of course.” Her voice was strained a bit, as if this were more of a task than teaching him about the world. Loki grabbed one of the cupcakes and took a bite, making sure to watch her and see that she did the same. She took a bite of the cupcake and set it down, nodding. “It’s definitely decently done.”

Loki grinned, and noted the smear of frosting next to Cassandra’s lip. Before he could even process what he was doing, he swiped his thumb over the chocolate frosting and licked it off his thumb. In hindsight, he wasn’t sure he could have stopped himself, even if he’d wanted to. “Missed a bit, pet.”

Both went wide eyed at the same time. The combination of action and him calling her “pet” unsettling them both. “What did you just do?” Cassandra whispered, without backing away.

“I…I don’t know.” He pulled his hand away from his mouth and leaned down slowly, using the back of his hand to push her hair back. “But I know that I do not want to stop.” Cassandra’s cheeks turned flaming pink as lips pressed against hers. She didn’t advance back but she didn’t pull away either, timidly letting him kiss her. His hand stroked the soft curls, his fingers tangling in them gently. “Cassandra,” His voice lower than usual, his lips still incredibly close to hers.

She looked up at him and he wasn’t mistaken there was a want in them. “Loki,” Her voice was tentative. He watched as she squared her shoulders similar to what she had done the day before and prepared himself to be hit or shoved. Instead she leaned up, giving him another kiss. Loki’s left hand went to her waist and the hand in her hair gripped gently as he deepened the returned kiss. Cassandra melted against Loki, one hand coming up and touching his face with a gentleness Loki had never experienced. He broke the kiss and stared at her, stroking the unruly hair. “Am I out of line?”

She bit her lip before shaking her head. “No, I’m just…shocked.” Loki nodded and went to take a third kiss when there was a very loud, rapid knock on the door. They both jumped apart as if Agent Romanov would come in without him answering the door. Cassandra turned back to the cupcakes. “I’ll finish these up while you go let her in.”

Loki nodded and went to the door letting in someone he knew hated him but who his very future existed upon their opinion of him. He loathed to do it, and not because she held his life in the balance, but because all he wanted to do was kiss the fiery red head in the kitchen.

Natasha wrapped up the interview with Loki and nodded. “You can come in here Ms. O’Halloran.”

Cassandra came in and looked at them both, nervous because her own future in the Avengers relied on this interview. “Good afternoon, Agent Romanov.”

“Good afternoon. I’ve finished the interview, and I’ll report all the information back to base. However, you’re both to be reassigned for the next phase. A quinjet will be here to pick you both up the day after tomorrow and take you to headquarters.”

Cassandra’s eyes went wide. “Reassigned?”

“You will still be the one keeping tabs on Loki here.” Loki sneered at the way the term was used but otherwise gave no indication of his displeasure. “But Loki will be helping with some projects that Dr. Banner is working on.”

Cassandra nodded. “Understood, Agent Romanov.”

Natasha grabbed her things and stood to go. “Also, Ms. O’Halloran, you have done well with this assignment so far. Captain Rogers and I are impressed with the way things are going from what you have reported. As such, you’ll be provided quarters at headquarters along with other vital members of the team to accommodate you keeping an eye on Loki.” Cassandra’s eyes went wide. She had assumed reassignment would mean her finding her own housing again, not having it provided for her. “More information will be provided to you when you arrive at headquarters.”

Agent Romanov then left as abruptly as she came. Cassandra looked at Loki, “How did it go?”

“Fine, it was mostly asking me questions of my intentions. I think they tricked you in what your actual assignment is though.”

Cassandra nodded. “I agree. I think I’m meant to be your babysitter, not your teacher.” She crossed her arms feeling a little annoyed at being drawn in by everything only to be used.

Loki came over to her and very slowly put his hands on her shoulders, causing her to flinch a bit. “Cassandra. It is okay. You have taught me things that I did not know, which has been helpful.” He squeezed her shoulders lightly and she looked up at him.

“I know, I just thought with everything they said I’d be of more use…I don’t know.”

Loki shushed her and leaned down, kissing her again. “Do not speak of yourself so lowly.” His voice was in that low octave again, it calmed her down. “Come, let us eat some of these cupcakes and watch one of those movies you are so fond of.” She blinked a few times when he pulled away to go get them their cupcakes and drinks. It felt surprisingly cold without him in her space anymore.

Loki saw Cassandra out after the movie. He didn’t dare push his luck for another kiss, which made their goodbye slightly awkward. What he wanted was for her to stay and let him ravish her, but he knew that wouldn’t happen. Instead he showed her out and let her go home. It felt empty without her there and he only had a day to pack up the little bit of things he had before they were relocated.

He thought of Cassandra’s reaction to being tricked and frowned. That wasn’t very kind of the Avengers to trick someone into being their spy. Especially someone not trained as a spy. He’d figure that out more, but for now he would have to focus on packing and what in the world could he help Bruce Banner out with?


	5. Chapter 5

Cassandra looked at the seating options on the quinjet and sat across from Loki. She was a bundle of nerves because she hated flying, had never been on the quinjet, and didn’t know what her new assignment would entail. Granted, it seemed she would still be his babysitter and be responsible for reporting on him daily as a pair of eyes on him. She was hardly qualified to be a spy on the God of Mischief and Tricks, so she didn’t understand why someone more able didn’t have this position.

Loki was watching her, not with a leering look but just observing her. She shrank a little under his stare and he smiled at her. He glanced around to see if they were alone and said softly, “You seem nervous, pet.”

She felt herself blushing at the nickname. How dare he nickname her in such away that she couldn’t chastise him publicly for. She should have said something when he first did it but hearing it made her feel warm. “I don’t care much for flying and I’ve never been on a quinjet before.” He nodded and didn’t say anything else as the pilot came on. Loki buckled himself in the same time Cassandra did. She closed her eyes and began mumbling to herself, “It’s perfectly safe.”

Loki suddenly wished she had sat next to him instead, he could hold her hand, or use his magic to provide some kind of illusion as entertainment. He watched her after the jet took off and sighed. “Cassandra, is there anything I could do?”

She shook her head, looking a little green as the jet began to reach its full speed. “No, Loki. Just…peace.”

Loki nodded and pulled out a book that she had given him just the day before. He tried to focus on the book, digging through the novel on racism in the United States, a concept completely foreign to him. He sighed after twenty minutes when it was obvious that Cassandra was not doing any better. “Cassandra…” He unbuckled and moved over to the seat next to her, buckling himself in there. “Grab my hand, pet.” He whispered to her, placing his hand on her knee palm side up.

Cassandra grabbed his hand and squeezed twice. The quinjet could handle going at Mach 2 and they’d be in upstate New York in no time. Loki squeezed back, rubbing his thumb over her hand gently, trying to steady her. “Thank you.” She whispered back.

“Of course.” He let her squeeze his hand as tight as she needed. She gasped when he lifted the hand and kissed the back of it before placing it back on her leg.

“What are you up to, Loki?”

“Not a thing, Cassandra.” He gave her hand another slight squeeze, trying to convey something to her. He didn’t know what exactly. She wasn’t picking up on it, however, and closed her eyes, appearing to try her best to get through this flight.

Loki stepped down off the quinjet and into the sunlight. The whole flight had taken approximately three hours. Cassandra had held onto him up until the landing, his hand felt slightly cramped and a little sweaty, but she was calmer holding onto him, so it was worth it. He looked around the compound that they were now to call home and he felt much more impressed by it than he had of New Asgard. It was clean, sleek, and definitely more his style.

He turned to see Cassandra coming shakily off the plane, she looked like she was going to be sick. “Cassandra?” He grabbed her arm and helped steady her. She shook her head and waved him off.

“I always get this way after a flight; I just need some ginger ale.”

They both looked up when they heard the clicking of boots on the concrete. Loki looked up as Agent Romanov came up to them. “Ms. O’Halloran; Loki. Welcome to the Avengers compound.”

Loki tipped his head. “Agent Romanov. We appear to need some ginger ale. Cassandra does not appear to take kindly to the quinjet.”

Natasha looked over at Cassandra and nodded. “Come with me. I’ll have one of the other agents take your things to your rooms. Right now, Steve wants to have a word with you two and I can obtain the ginger ale for Ms. O’Halloran.” 

Loki would have preferred taking care of Cassandra first, but he understood that this was business and the change in the topography of the world meant that some people were less kind. It was the way of things for humans though, to turn less kind in the face of adversity, at least in his mind. Cassandra seemed to be an anomaly.

He kept one arm out to steady Cassandra, something he knew was not lost on Natasha, but he was more concerned with Cassandra’s well-being. She was holding onto his arm as they were led into a glass encased board room where Steve sat with Dr. Banner and someone that Loki had never encountered before.

Steve stood and immediately went to help with Cassandra, noticing that she was paler than when he had first met her. “First time on a quinjet, Ms. O’Halloran?”

Cassandra nodded. “Yes, Captain. Flying doesn’t suit me it appears.”

Steve helped her into a seat. “Well let’s get you some ginger ale and some crackers. I’ll make sure they’re available for you next time we send you anywhere.”

She just nodded and Loki watched, keeping his face as devoid of emotion as he could before he took the seat next to Cassandra. He turned his attention to the person that he didn’t know. He was a man in his thirties, maybe early forties with brown hair and he was sitting with his feet up on the conference table. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and looked incredibly disheveled.

Loki decided it best to wait until Cassandra was taken care of before they started in on who was who and why Loki was here. Natasha turned to the disheveled man and directed him to go and get the ginger ale. He jumped up, nearly knocking his chair over, as he left the room. Loki looked around the room, taking in everything as stoically as possible as the group waited for this man to come back with the drink and a packet of crackers. Cassandra nodded in thanks and Loki observed her closer than he intended as she nibbled at them.

Steve spoke up after everyone was seated again. “We have come across some information that means we might be able to get the people who we lost back, if we’re successful.”

Cassandra and Loki both snapped their heads to Steve immediately. Cassandra broke the silence, “Excuse me?”

“We think time travel might be a possibility. We need Loki’s magical expertise possibly incase the physics of it can’t keep up.”

Loki went wide eyed. “Time travel is…”

The disheveled man spoke up. “Possible. I went into the quantum realm the day the Event happened. I came out three years later the same as I was that day, it was like I was only there for minutes. Time works differently and maybe we can use it to our advantage. I’m Scott. Scott Lang. Maybe you’ve heard of me, I’m Ant-Man”

Loki stared at this Scott as if he had two heads. He most certainly had not heard of an ‘Ant-Man’. “I’ve never tried…That’s something even Frigga could not master.”

Dr. Banner spoke up. “Which is why we will be going at it from the physics side of things and trying to figure it out from there with Scott’s help. You will be here as a backup of sorts.”

“In other words, I am to have a closer eye on me and maybe be of use.” Loki did his best to hide the disdain in his voice. 

Cassandra looked at him, she must have picked up on the tone. “Loki, I think this is actually a good opportunity for you to put your skills to good use. Even if it isn’t necessarily helping Dr. Banner.”

Loki nodded to her and then looked at Steve. “Apologies for being a bit testy. I will gladly do whatever I can to help you with your physics and everything else.”

“Thank you,” Steve’s tone was quizzical. His eyes flitting between Cassandra and Loki. “Natasha show them to their quarters please.”

Cassandra looked at the room she had been given after the tour of the compound. Her and Loki were on the secured fourth floor; they obviously still didn’t trust him. It was more of an apartment built for four residents. There was a stainless-steel kitchen to the right when she walked in and a living room that was in black and white with generic paintings on the walls. She looked down the hallway off the living room and saw the four bedrooms, two on each side with a connected bathroom for them. All four rooms were empty except for where her and Loki’s things had been placed.

Cassandra walked into the room that had her suitcases in it and shut the door. She looked around the room which was large enough to contain a queen size bed and a built-in desk that she would be able to work at. Her five suitcases took up the bulk of the floor space and she should really unpack but right now what needed to happen was sorting out her feelings for Loki. Oh, that could wait, too. A post-flight nap was what was needed right now. She laid on the bed without pulling the covers back and fell into a deep sleep.

She was awakened by someone knocking on her door. She looked around and noticed that it was almost night fall. They had arrived around 2 so she must have been asleep for a good while. She rubbed her eyes as she sat up and stretched. “Yes?”

Loki’s voice came from the other side. “I have prepared a dinner for us. I…I do not know if you care to join me.”

“Oh! That would be fine, Loki. I will be out in a few minutes.” She checked herself in the mirror and tried to tame her hair, straighten out her clothes that she had slept in before stepping out. She looked around and oriented herself heading to the small kitchen where Loki had whipped up what appeared to be chicken alfredo.

He shrugged at her. “It was what was here. Romanov said that if we make a list, they can get it filled for us tomorrow. Along with anything we may need.”

She had never shared living quarters with anyone before, not even in college, so this was going to take some getting used to. She had assumed that she would have a bathroom and a bedroom separate from everyone else. However, small apartments did make the most sense. She wondered who else was on this floor that prevented her from being in her own place. She sat down across from Loki at the table and admired the finery around them. This place had definitely been funded with Stark money.

Loki had waited all afternoon for Cassandra to come back out of her room and was surprised when she didn’t. He had decided to make dinner and would alert her to it if she still didn’t come out when it was ready. After almost an hour he assumed she had fallen asleep, the quinjet seemed to really take it out of her.

He woke her and felt the room brighten when she came out, still in the same clothes she had been in and looking sleepy. It felt better with her in the room. He knew that she was meant to be attached at his hip now that they were sharing quarters. Why they chose her, and not say Valkyrie or Natasha to keep an eye on him he couldn’t figure out. They were much more suited to the task. Loki could easily do whatever he pleased around Cassandra and no one would know.

Except he would know, and then how would he get her to trust him? He watched as she picked at the food. “Eat, Cassandra.” His voice was soft. “You need to regain some strength after this afternoon and picking at it won’t do that.”

She flushed. “It’s good, Loki. I just still feel awful.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, taking her in for a minute before speaking. “Do you remember what I am God of?”

Cassandra’s cheeks turned a brighter red. “Mischief.” She looked away from him.

“Yes, and my father called me the Prince of Lies.” He smiled at her, taking the harshness away from what he was about to say. “So do not lie to me. I know you are not eating for some other reason. You never eat around me, pet.”

She jumped almost to attention when he called her pet. “I…I don’t?”

He shook his head. “You do not. Now please, I worked hard to put everything you taught me into this dish.” Cassandra sighed and began to eat the food instead of picking at it. Loki smiled at her. “Thank you.”

He was determined to get to the bottom of not only her timidity, but also her issues around him. She smiled at him. “This is actually very good. It could use a bit more salt, but other than that it is good.”

The two of them finished their food and then went to work examining the rest of the quarters. There were plenty of bookshelves and a well-equipped kitchen. Loki kept watching Cassandra as she looked at everything. “I am going to kiss you again, pet.” His eyes were asking it as a question, he waited until she nodded to him, almost imperceptibly, and then pressed his lips to hers. She kissed back this time without hesitation this time, one hand digging into his shirt. Loki put his hands on her hips and guided her to the wall, pushing her up against the wall as he deepened the kiss. Cassandra made a soft noise as she was pinned to the wall, but she didn’t push him away.

When they broke the kiss she whispered softly, “Loki, I don’t know if we should…”

He cut her off with another kiss. Who cared about should? He never had, he saw what he wanted, and he took it. Right now, he wanted this beautiful redhaired creature that had shook up his life over the past month. “I do not give one iota towards what we should do. You can report this back to Captain Rogers and your director and get reassigned if it makes you more comfortable. I will still pursue you.”

Cassandra looked away from him, her hands still wrinkling his shirt. “Why?”

Loki gave a soft chuckle. “Because I want you, pet.” He brushed his lips over her jaw line. “We do not have to rush. I will wait as long as it takes to prove it to you.”

She looked back at him. “Is this a trick?”

Loki shook his head. “You would not know if it was a trick, and you will not believe my answer either way.” He brushed his lips against hers again, silently asking permission for another one of her kisses. She acquiesced and gave a soft whimper as he pressed in closer, her hands sliding from his chest to around his neck. They stayed in the embrace against the wall a minute more before she pushed him very gently away.

“Loki, I…we should unpack.” She straightened her clothes a little. Loki nodded and moved away from her. Respecting the boundary she was setting was going to be painful considering he just wanted to drag her to his room.

“Of course.” The two of them went their separate ways, Loki caught Cassandra giving one last look before she shut her door, putting a silence between them for the evening.

Cassandra spent the rest of her evening unpacking and thinking about those kisses. They’d been soft, softer than she thought he was capable of. The grip on her hip she could still feel his fingers digging in. The touch of the wall on her back and how cool it felt- the heat rising in her body. The musculature of his chest. The way he smelled…

She shook her head as she put away her clothes. Surely this was a trick he was playing, trying to get in her good graces so that the person assigned to spy on him would be kinder to him. She considered that frequently since he first kissed her and thought about getting herself reassigned, but she didn’t want to disappoint the people who were counting on her to hold him accountable. She resolved to not let him kiss her again. No matter how nice he felt under her hands or how nice it felt to have him touch her.


	6. Chapter 6

Cassandra woke from a night of fitful sleep and stared at the ceiling annoyed. It wasn’t that the bed was uncomfortable, it was actually the most comfortable bed she had ever been in. It was the fact that she kept dreaming about Loki, those kisses, and all the other places she wanted him to touch her. She rubbed her face, groaning because there was nothing that she could do about the arousal she felt. She kicked the blankets off and sat up, trying to resist the urge to throw a fit. She’d take a cold shower and then get the day started.

Cassandra headed into the bathroom that was attached to her bedroom and nearly screamed when she saw the shower was one of the high-tech ones with a button and a knob for temperature control instead of traditional handles. She should have expected as much given how fancy everything else around here seemed to be, but this was just a straw too many too early in the morning. She spent nearly five minutes figuring out the buttons and knobs, getting the shower to what she wanted it to be, cold and bracing. 

Cassandra stepped out of the shower and wrapped one of the towels around her, surprised by how fluffy it was. She wrapped a second towel around her ridiculous hair and looked at herself in the mirror. Loki was definitely playing tricks on her and she needed to get her head back in the game. She would report the flirtation attempts so that it was on the record and if she needed to be reassigned so be it. 

Loki finished his own shower and dressed in a black suit, minus the jacket. He stepped out of his room and heard Cassandra cursing the shower. He thought about tapping on the door to ask if she was fine or if she needed help but decided if he had to figure out the damn overly complicated thing, so could she. He turned his attention to the kitchen and stared at the coffee machine. “Fuck.” He muttered. This was not like the one back in New Asgard. He poked at it for a minute or two before figuring out how it worked. He made a pot of coffee, knowing that she would appreciate that. Then turned to conquer the third nemesis of the morning: breakfast.

Cassandra came out dressed in her jeans and a white button up blouse about the time he was finishing up the bacon. He looked up. “Good morning. I have made coffee.” He was not meaning to be blunt about it, but he was frustrated from lack of rest and that everything this morning had been a test of patience to figure out. She made a sound that was a cross between gratitude and displeasure. Apparently, the morning wasn’t treating her well either. He watched as she got herself a cup of coffee and sweetened it, adding milk since there was no creamer. She grabbed the note pad and a pen and wrote “CREAMER” on top before taking a sip of her coffee. Loki couldn’t help but smile, she seemed adorably cranky this morning. “We can make that shopping list together later.”

Loki turned back to making the eggs for them and turned when he heard Cassandra curse. “Shit!” She was immediately wiping at her blouse; she had spilled coffee on it. She got up and stalked back to her room, muttering to herself. Definitely a bad morning for both of them. Cassandra came back out wearing a dark green button up shirt this time. She had tucked it in, showing off more of her figure than he was used to seeing. Or maybe he was just noticing things more because of his desire for her. 

Loki set a plate with two eggs and a few pieces of bacon next to her cup of coffee. “Oh, Loki you shouldn’t have.”

Loki shrugged. “I needed to make myself something to eat, I might as well make you something, too.” He smiled as she ate a piece of bacon. “Besides, there is something about you that I want to just take care of.” He ran the back of his fingers over her cheek and smiled at her.

“Loki, what are you trying to get at?” He noticed her square her shoulders some.

“Excuse me?” He felt his hackles raised the way they always did when he was being accused of something and he pulled his hand back.

“What are you getting at?” She repeated herself, clearly annoyed that she had to. “Why are you messing with me? It won’t stop me from reporting anything that you do that is suspect.”

Loki studied her for a long time, taking a sip of his black coffee. “You really do not think that I am being sincere?” She shook her head. “Well, I am not into tricking a woman into liking me just to gain my footing in a situation. I know you will not believe me, but it is true. I also would point out that I have been honest with you since the beginning.”

Cassandra locked eyes with him. “And how do I know that is not part of some scheme that you are working on?”

“You cannot.” He said it matter-of-factly. He couldn’t prove to her that he was being sincere, but he could continue to try. She let out a sigh but didn’t say anything. Loki leaned down and kissed the top of her head before he moved to leave. “I must get to the lab to begin assisting with their insane idea of time travel.”

Cassandra nodded. “Yes, I am to follow you and sit outside the lab, I believe. Part of my new job is to report on you,” she stated matter-of-factly, as if her position was more important than his. He simply nodded.

“Well, let us be off together then, we can do the grocery list at lunch together.” He put a hand on her shoulder and before she could say a word, he teleported them to the front of the lab. She gasped when they landed and nearly fell to her knees. He caught her, lifting her up. “Probably should have warned you before I did that.”

She glared at him and slapped at his arm. “Yes, you should have!” She straightened out her shirt looking very angry with him. He liked the fire in her eyes and wanted to learn how to tame her, make her respond to him in all the most secretive ways. His eyes glinted with mischief as they stared each other down.

“Uh, What the hell was that?” Scott stuck his head outside of the lab door, staring at the two of them. “I heard a noise and it sounded like someone fell?”

Cassandra spoke up. “ _Someone_ used his magic to teleport us from the 4th floor to here.” She huffed a little and then looked at Scott. “Am I to be stuck outside of the lab while you boys work or am I allowed inside to do my monitoring?”

“Actually, today you’re supposed to be seeing Natasha about something. I’m supposed to keep eyes on him.”

“Very well, I’ll be back at lunch time, Loki.” She walked away, her heels clicking on the tile as she headed towards the common room on the floor. Loki couldn’t help but watch as she walked away, smirking to himself that he’d annoyed her a little.

Scott coughed to get Loki’s attention. “Hey, man, you uh, you okay there?” He noticed exactly where the line of sight was going, and he wanted to say something, but Loki looked like if he did he’d hex him, so he snapped his mouth shut.

Loki nodded. “Just fine, thank you.” He pushed past Scott to begin work on whatever it was Banner wanted him to do.

Cassandra finished her morning meeting with Natasha which had been, of all things, learning how to do hand to hand combat. She had a few lessons in her initial agent training but because of her education they’d overlooked how poorly she was at fighting to begin with and taught her the proper way to use a knife instead. Now she was getting private lessons from Natasha Romanov of all people on how to fight. She came to lunch sore, sweaty, and tired. She didn’t even bother to change out of the yoga pants and tank top, her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. She tiredly lay down on the couch in the common room of their apartment and groaned. Loki had watched her come in but didn’t say anything.

She mumbled from the pillow. “What, Loki? I feel you starring at me.”

“You look like you are exhausted.” He grabbed a water out of the fridge and brought it over to her.

“I just got my ass kicked by Natasha Romanov. I’m beyond exhausted. Apparently, I will be doing that daily for the rest of forever.” She took the water and sat up, chugging about half of it. “I’m to learn to fight at least somewhat because they say I’m too smart to not be a field agent when they have so few agents as it is.”

Loki smiled. “They are correct. You should have a higher station.” Cassandra looked up at him and then laid back on the couch, barely acknowledging the praise. Loki reached over and tucked a stray curl from her ponytail behind her ear. “I will make us lunch, you relax.”

“Loki…” She began but he cut her off with a soft peck on the lips and her brain practically shut down. She leaned up as he pulled away, trying to get a second kiss which made him chuckle. He shook his head and headed into the kitchen. “I think I’m going to take a quick shower and change back into my work clothes.”

“Whatever you need, Cassandra. I will make sandwiches from the left-over bacon?”

“That sounds wonderful, Loki.” She went into her room and stripped down, taking a hot shower to get the grime of sweat off. She looked at herself in the mirror when she got out and saw the spots where bruising was already forming on her impossibly pale skin. Cassandra guessed that she’d have to get used to the bruising if she was going to be a member of the team here. She pulled her clothes from earlier back on and sighed, the bruises were going to be visible on her arms from where she’d tried to block Natasha’s hits. Cassandra came out, noticing that Loki was waiting at the dining room table for her. He was leaned back, flipping through the book he had been working on most recently. He looked up when she came out and gave a smile that suggested he had ulterior motives.

Loki stared at Cassandra as she came out of her room and he couldn’t help but think of things he would rather be doing than eating a boring lunch and making a boring shopping list for someone else to handle. He gestured for her to come over. “Cassandra, come here.” His voice was a little lower than usual and Cassandra came over, looking as if he had mesmerized her. He pulled her on his knee before she could protest and wrapped an arm around her. He kissed her neck, taking in the smell of lavender and vanilla. “You smell better than this meal.”

“Loki!” She squirmed a little and went to get up but felt his grip turn iron tight. She stopped moving and looked at him. “Loki, I am too big to be sitting in your lap. Let me up.”

“If that is your only reason for not wanting to be in my lap, no.” He nipped at her neck lightly. “I want you in my lap and you weigh nothing to me.”

She turned her head to look at him. “You _must_ be joking.” He was practically a bean pole even it was all muscle.

“Pet, I’m a _God_.” He kissed her neck again. “Do you really want me to let you go?”

Cassandra had a pensive look on her face for a few seconds and then nodded. “Not because I dislike it, but I’m bruised.”

He quickly let her go, thinking he had gripped her too hard. “Did I hurt you?” He felt panic rising in him. He rarely felt panic over a situation, and this was a serious one. Loki didn’t want to hurt Cassandra. Well, not without her consent, anyways.

Cassandra shook her head, “No, no. Just fighting with the Black Widow is no joke.”

Loki felt himself relax and stood up, wrapping his arms around her, gently this time. “Oh, pet…” He kissed the top of her head. “Come on, let us eat this meager lunch and make our shopping list.” Cassandra sat down across from him, looking a bit reluctant, and took a bite of her sandwich. The two of them spent the last half of the lunch hour going over the list and making sure they agreed on the meals that they were choosing. “I have to get back to the lab now. What is your agenda, Cassandra?”

“Natasha is going to be teaching me some computer stuff. Showing me how the comms in the compound work and basic hacking. I think I’m learning spy stuff from the best spy on earth.”

“Well you could not ask for a better teacher then. Shall I teleport us down…?” He felt it best to ask this time instead of surprising her with it. She nodded hesitantly and he took her hand, popping them in front of the lab again. He gave her hand a squeeze before letting it go and heading into the lab, separating the two of them for the rest of the day.

Cassandra came back to their quarters a little after six and noticed that the groceries had already been delivered and put away from them. She blinked a few times as she looked at the now stocked fridge and pantry. Things were definitely efficiently done around here. Cassandra began to pull the things out for dinner and started prep work. She was exhausted but she knew she should make something to eat because of Loki. Cassandra stopped herself mid dice of an onion. Where did that thought come from? Why did she feel like she needed to do anything for or because of him? She felt anger at herself rising. Since when did she let anyone else dictate what she should and shouldn’t do?

Her train of thought was interrupted as she heard Loki teleported into the apartment. His sleeves were rolled up and his tie was loose. It looked like he had been doing work, or at least some theory crafting. He looked like an annoyed intellectual, tired of debating in circles. Cassandra felt her anger dissipate as his eyes got a little spark in them as he stared at her. “Good evening, Cassandra.”

“Loki.” She was still a little angry. His brow furrowed as he picked up her tone. Cassandra turned back to her dicing and began working on dinner again. “I’m making dinner. Should take me about thirty minutes.”

He nodded. “Do you require assistance?”

She shook her head. “No, thank you.” Cassandra watched as he sat down at the table, being silent and waiting. She finished up dinner in silence, becoming increasingly frustrated with herself for her feelings. She wanted to go over and kiss him, wrap herself up in his arms and she hated herself for it. He was supposed to be her job, not someone she had feelings for. “It’s done.”

“Cassandra, something seems to be bothering you, what is wrong?”

“You!” The exclamation came out before she even really processed what she wanted to say. Her hand went to her face and rubbed her temple, in for a penny in for a pound. “You are what is wrong! I am supposed to be keeping an eye on you. I am not supposed to be falling for…for…you…your tricks!”

Loki’s face turned to surprise and he simply crossed his legs and put his chin in his hand, elbow on the table. “How do you think _I_ feel, Cassandra?”

Cassandra fumbled with her anger, wanting to keep up her momentum, but he was being so calm with her. “I don’t know, Loki!” She snapped, then spoke haltingly. “You are hard to read. You are so stoic one moment and then the next you are all over me, confusing me…”

His eyes were studying her face, his demeanor still that of exemplary patience. “I want you, Cassandra. Period. You will never believe it not to be a trick until you learn to trust me. I admit trusting me is probably hard or foolish, but I am being sincere with you.” Cassandra felt her resolve deflating because he felt so sincere like this. She leaned back against the kitchen counter and crossed her arms, falling silent. Loki waited a moment before he stood and crossed the room to her. He put his hands on her arms and rubbed softly. “Please, please learn to trust me. I am trying to redeem myself to all of Midgard, but to you most of all.” Her eyes flitted up to his face and she relaxed her arms, uncrossing them and slowly sliding them around him. He slid his own arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. “Let us not go through this anymore, I have had enough of intellectual debate and proving myself for one day. I want dinner and maybe one of those lame, what was it you called them? Popcorn movies.”

Cassandra nodded against his chest. “Yes, that sounds like a good plan.” He squeezed her before he let her go, his hand going to her chin and tipping it up so he could kiss her softly. She melted a little into the kiss and immediately forgot all the reasons why she was mad at him to begin with.

Steve sat across from Natasha and crossed his arms. “She’s compromised, Natasha. She has to be reassigned.”

Natasha shook her head. “You’re wrong, Steve. She told me in her training about him losing his temper with her. She will tell us the moment she gets a whiff of him doing something that is against his agreements with you.”

“They were seen holding hands not just on the flight but today when he teleported them. She is a weak link; we can’t trust what she tells us.”

“Steve trust me on this one. Almost anyone we would have sent to deal with Loki would have fallen for his silver tongue. The thing is, _he_ is compromised.”

“What?” Steve looked momentarily confused.

“He likes her back. If that is the case, we must keep her close to keep in check. He _apologized_ to her for losing his temper. He didn’t even apologize for attacking earth, simply said it was something he regretted doing in retrospect if you remember correctly.”

Steve sighed. “If this goes pear shaped, I’m blaming you Natasha.”

“Just trust me, we have Loki where we want him, and Cassandra is the key to keeping him there.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut, ahoy!

They had been at the Avengers facility for two weeks now and Cassandra felt herself getting stronger with the hand to hand combat that she had been doing with Natasha. She felt more confident in it, even if it did still amount to her just getting her ass kicked on the daily. Her feelings for Loki were even more confusing, they were getting stronger daily. One minute she would be angry at him, feeling like she was being manipulated and then the next she would be melting in his arms as he pets her. She was a bundle of confusion as to why she hadn’t been reassigned. She told Natasha everything, put in her reports to Captain Rogers and her director about Loki’s affections towards her. Yet, she stayed put in the shared quarters, frustrated.

Cassandra sat up on her bed, it was late morning because it was Sunday, the one day of the week she didn’t get flipped and pinned by Natasha. It was the one day of rest that Steve insisted on the group having and usually that meant a big group meal downstairs in the evenings, but the rest of the day was for each individual to spend as they pleased. She sniffed and smelled the aroma of coffee coming from her and Loki’s common room. He didn’t seem to understand the merits of sleeping in. She jumped in the shower, taking an extra-long time to wash, condition and dry her curls because she knew it would help her avoid the inevitable.

Cassandra came out in a red knee-length dress that tied at the waist, accentuating her figure. Instead of heels she had opted for black sandal flats so that she stood a full foot shorter than Loki. Her hair was in loose curls partially tamed by a black headband with a bow on it. Loki felt suddenly under dressed in just his black pajama pants that hung from his hips, shirtless and barefoot. Cassandra stopped, staring at him and he saw the look in her eyes as they raked over his body. He smirked, maybe being underdressed wasn’t so bad after all. “Good morning, pet.”

Cassandra smiled when he spoke. “Good morning, Loki. Where is the coffee I smell?”

“First things first, come here.” He grabbed her playfully and spun her around, taking in the full sight of her in the dress. “You look incredible this morning.” His lips found hers quickly, stealing a kiss from the tired woman.

Cassandra kissed back, her cheeks tinging pink. “Thank you, Loki. Coffee, please.”

He chuckled at the way she hyper focused in the mornings on coffee. “Come on, I will get your cup ready, you just have a seat.” She sat as directed and waited for him to bring her the coffee. Loki had put in the effort to learn how she took it so that he could have it ready for her most mornings and take a little bit off her plate. She sighed as she sipped the coffee and looked up at him with a grateful expression. “I hope I got it right this time.”

Cassandra nodded. “You got it just right this time. Thank you, Loki.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Of course, pet. I feel I should get dressed; I’m underdressed compared to you.” Her eyes raked over him and he smiled as he saw the look of desire in those beautiful green and gold eyes of hers. “Or, I can just stay like this if you would prefer.”

This time the tinge of pink turned a bright red, almost matching her coppery curls. “How you dress is up to you.”

He had flustered her and that made him chuckle as he turned to go to his room. He came back out in jeans and a t-shirt, dressed down for once. It was still all black, but much more comfortable he found. “How is this?”

Cassandra looked over him and nodded. “It’s nice to see you not in a suit, making me feel like _I’m_ underdressed.”

Loki chuckled at her again and began to put together a breakfast for them. “Toast and eggs good with you?” She simply nodded and sipped on her coffee. Loki whipped up the breakfast for them and placed a plate in front of her. She had been eating in front of him more, occasionally trying to avoid it. For the most part, however, her training with Natasha seemed to keep her famished. 

They two of them finished their breakfast in silence and then moved to the living area which Cassandra had decorated with a plant and Loki had begun filling the bookshelves with books on Philosophy and Physics. Loki was confused by Midgardian science, but he was trying to be of use to the team he found himself on. Anything to get the people they had lost back.

Cassandra sat on the couch and grabbed the fiction novel she had been reading while Loki sat next to her, digging through one of the books Banner had given him on physics. The two of them sat in silence for the rest of the morning, the only change was Cassandra kicked off her sandals and tucked her feet underneath herself and leaned into Loki a little more. He glanced at her and slid his arm around her shoulder, one handing his book.

Cassandra felt Loki’s arm slide around her shoulder and tucked herself up under it a bit more, snuggling down to read. The two of them had spent the past Sunday in similar fashion, curled into each other and reading. She appreciated the silence of it all and being able to escape into her fictions, pretending that their situation wasn’t a complicated mess. Loki suddenly closed his book and began tracing his fingertips lightly over her arm. “Cassandra?” A warm fuzzy feeling overtook her at the way he said her name this time. That combined with the way his fingertips were tracing small patterns on her arm made her feel like melting into him and never moving. She made a questioning noise instead of saying words and looked up at him. “Let me kiss you.”

As if on autopilot, she closed her book and set it on top of his. “Okay.” Loki moved his right hand over to her face and stroked it softly before tipping her head up towards him and leaning in to kiss her. They had kissed what felt like hundreds of times before but something about this kiss felt heated and desperate from him. She made another soft noise as his tongue came out, coaxing her mouth open as he deepened the kiss. She cupped his face with one hand, the other grabbing his thigh. They sat like that for what felt like an eternity, his hand tangling in her hair.

Without much warning, Loki shifted them, pushing her backwards on the couch. She shifted her hands to his chest to push him away if necessary. He looked down at her, his black hair hanging around his face, as he repositioned them so that his body was between her legs and he was hovering inches from her face. “Better.” He whispered as he leaned in and kissed her again. She felt self-conscious, with her skirt half-way up her thighs, but there were those warm lips trailing from her mouth to her neck and she forgot why she needed to be embarrassed. 

“Loki…” A moan escaping her lips as he nipped at her ear. “What are you… what are you doing?”

“Kissing you. Kissing on you.” He kissed her neck softly, his teeth scraping over the sensitive skin. A sound escaped her lips that was a cross between surprise and arousal. Her hands quickly moved, one digging into Loki’s hair and the other wrapping around him, pulling him a little closer. “Hmm, you like that, pet?” She nodded in response, staring at the ceiling as she felt one of his hands slid down her body, gripping her hip. Loki leaned in and bit down this time, not too hard, and she felt all the warmth in her body pool in one place. Teeth were still gripping her flesh as the hand on her hip slid down her thigh and then back up, under the skirt this time.

This was further than they had gone before, and she felt her heart begin to flutter in panic. “Loki…wait…” His hand slid back down to her knee, he released her neck and gave a soft kiss to the spot he had bitten. She looked at him and stroked his hair. “We’ve never, you’ve never…I…”

“The moment you want me to stop, you say so and I will.” Lips were pressed against hers again and she was kissing back just as passionately now. A gasp escaped her lips as he pulled away to get her permission to move forward and she just nodded. “No, pet, I need you to say it.”

Cassandra whispered. “Please, Loki, please.”

A smirk came over his face and she saw that mischievous glint that he got in his eyes from time to time. “Please _what_?” Her voice turned into a whine and she went to wriggle her hips against him, her own way of getting revenge against him teasing her and making her verbalize what she needed. He was quicker than her though and pinned her hips down. “Say it or we go back to just reading.”

Loki smirked when Cassandra finally spoke again. Her voice was full of need, and that pleased him greatly. “Please, Loki, I…I need…just kiss me, bite me, _touch me_.” He watched as her pale skin turned red from her neck up, her vulnerability showing.

“Gladly.” His mouth went back to her neck and he bit down again, not hard enough to leave a mark but hard enough for her to feel it. The hand on her hip went back to exploring her thick thighs, sliding back up her skirt and feeling the edge of her panty line. This was the furthest she had ever let him explore and he was going to push as far as she let him. He slid his hand over the front of her panties and down, pulling his mouth from her neck to watch her face and to make sure he didn’t miss any signs from her.

Cassandra gasped as fingers pressed against the fabric, feeling her arousal. He arched an eyebrow at her as she whimpered his name, one hand covering her face in what he suspected was embarrassment. “Oh, oh god.”

Loki smirked. “Yes?” He moved his hand to the side a bit, pushing the panties aside and sliding his fingers under the hem. Her eyes flew open, locking on his face through the screen her hand provided as he slid a single finger from the wet opening up to the hard, little bundle of nerves at the top. “You wanted me to touch you, did you not?” She nodded, her hand covering her mouth and the moan that came as he began to rub in tiny circles. A growl came up from his chest and he moved her hand with his free hand. “I want to hear you. I do not want you to hide from me.” His name escaped her lips again and he felt himself growing harder somehow. He added a second finger to his manipulations of her, watching as she squirmed against him, one hand holding on to him and the other constantly trying to hide her face. Suddenly stopping, he growled, “Cassandra, you will not hide from me.”

With his free hand he pinned her hand that she kept trying to hide with to the couch by the wrist and with his other hand he worked her panties off, wanting more room to work. Cassandra gasped and stared up at him, lifting her hips and legs to assist him. The hand that was holding onto his shirt gripped tighter as his fingers went back to work between her legs. Her eyes rolled shut as he began to rub a little harder at her clit. “Oh…fuck, Loki.”

“Not today, I fear.” He kissed her, squeezing the wrist he had pinned down when it tried to break free. He slid a finger easily in her and chuckled when she made that beautiful sound that was a mix of a moan and a gasp. “Today is for teasing you. For reminding you I find you immensely attractive.” A second finger in with the first and he began to move them slowly, watching her slowly come unwound. She was hot and wet, just knowing it was for him was making his own arousal almost unbearable. His fingers explored for a minute until he curled them at the just right spot and she practically came off the couch into him. “There you are,” he growled.

Cassandra felt his fingers as they curled up against her g-spot and she pressed up towards him. “Loki!” Her eyes closed as he squeezed her wrist again to keep her from breaking free. She liked that he had her pinned, the lack of control she felt was exhilarating. The fingers massaged it slowly, and when she opened her eyes again, he was staring down at her, a smirk on his face. Her hips rocking freely against his hand as he worked her up. As she felt her release building up inside of her, she groaned and took her hand away from his t-shirt and tried to hide her face with it.

Loki let out a growl. “I said I want to see you.” He pulled his fingers from her and she felt suddenly empty, whining in response. “Give me that hand.” He nodded, indicating for her to put both hands together. She hesitated but did so, letting him pin both her hands down so she couldn’t hide her face anymore. Then suddenly there were two fingers back in her, working her back up. She writhed beneath him as her release got closer and closer. His thumb grazed her clit and he began to massage it in tandem with his fingers working her up.

Cassandra’s eyes closed and she felt herself release on his fingers. His name left her lips multiple times and she tried to break free of the iron tight grasp on her wrists. It felt like she was going to explode, it felt like fireworks. Loki slid his fingers out slowly and began to lazily stroke at her folds to bring her down. Her body twitched against him and she whimpered. He slowly released her wrists and she threw her arms around him, burying her burning face against his neck. His hand moved from between her legs and he moved so he could hold her, adjusting her to her side so he could lay beside her. “Shhh.” His voice was soothing her as she came down. After a couple of minutes, she calmed down and began placing soft kisses over his neck. “There you are, pet.”

Cassandra pulled back and looked up at him. Her eyes searched his face, but he was as unreadable as ever. The only thing she could glean from it was that he was pleased with either her or himself, it was hard to tell which. “Thank you.” She whispered.

Loki laughed and stroked her now slightly messed up hair. “You do not have to thank me for that. That was my pleasure.” His hand snaked down to her hip and pulled her into him, and she gasped as she felt him pressed against her. “Maybe later, after dinner, you can help me out.” He showered her face with kisses. Cassandra simply nodded; she didn’t have the energy to think about helping him out. Not that she knew what that would entail.

Loki watched as Cassandra pulled her panties back on after a brief nap on the couch against him. The nap had been almost as nice as getting her off. Holding her as she was at her most vulnerable and her trusting him with it. He knew it was probably because she had been zapped of energy, but he was going to take it anyways. She slid her sandals back on and looked at him, smoothing her skirt out. “Do I look okay?”

“Well, you no longer look like you have been ravaged. But I could fix that.” She swatted at him in a playful nature. “I am teasing.” She glared at him as he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into his lap. “I will not mess up your look again.” He placed a soft kiss on her cheek.

“We need to get downstairs, Loki.” He released her in a gesture of surrender, and she stood, straightening her skirt one more time. Loki stood after her and held out his hand to teleport them.

They arrived a moment later downstairs in the big common room where Scott was stretched out on the couch, his eyes narrowing when he saw the way the two of them were holding hands. “Hey you two. How’s it going?” They quickly untangled their hands; Loki had expected them to be the first ones there.

Cassandra smiled at Scott and Loki watched as she moved the man’s legs so she could sit. “Hey, Scott. You’re early, you’re usually late.”

“Decided to try something different, see if Cap notices.”

She laughed at him and Loki watched as they conversed, sitting in a chair opposite of her even though he wanted the spot that Scott took up. He was silent as the rest of the team – Steve, Bruce, Natasha – came in. Steve looked surprised at Scott’s presence. “You’re early.”

Scott seemed to beam. “You noticed!”

“Of course, …what?” Steve seemed confused by Scott’s enthusiasm, which made Cassandra and Scott laugh. Loki loved to see her do that. He needed to find out how to get her to smile and laugh more.

Cassandra said good night to the team, as they had gotten to a part of the night where they reminisced. Scott watched her leave and then turned to see Loki staring at him. Loki then made his excuses and disappeared as well. Scott knew that the team talking about their past made those two uncomfortable because they didn’t understand the loss fully.

Natasha nudged Scott after the two had left. “So, did they come together?”

Scott smiled. “Yea they did, holding hands, like this.” He twined his two hands together. “Seemed surprised to see me here.”

Steve shook his head. “Natasha, I’m telling you…”

Natasha lifted a finger, shushing him. “I don’t want to hear it again. Just trust me on this one. I’m the super spy.”

Banner laughed. “Well, holding hands while teleporting isn’t a sign that they’re together.”

“You don’t understand,” Scott said. “Trust me, they’re together. Or at least doing things. I bet by Sunday after next Cassandra asks to be reassigned because of it.”

Natasha laughed. “She’s already mentioned being reassigned, try something else, Scott.”

“Alright, alright. I bet they’ll stop hiding it then.”

Banner shook his head. “No way, Loki will never be open about it.”

Natasha appeared to be in thought. “I’ll take that bet, Lang. I be it happens by this Thursday, Scott.”

Scott shook his head. “No way, that’s way too soon. You think they’re that far gone with each other?”

“I do. Thursday.”

“You’re on. 100 bucks. Anyone else want in on this?”

Loki had merely cast an illusion when he walked out, and they were all too buzzed to notice. He stood in the shadows listening to their conversation as they placed increasing bets on him and Cassandra. Most of it annoyed him; because he knew it would embarrass Cassandra. The other part of him, however, was intrigued to see if he could have some fun at the expense of them. Especially considering even Captain Rogers was in on this betting. He’d have to think about that later, however, Cassandra had gone upstairs, and he was hoping to get her to keep her agreement of helping him out. 


	8. Chapter 8

Cassandra was standing in the kitchen, looking around for the wine, when Loki came in. Her hands were shaking a bit and she needed something to steady herself. She had told Loki she would help him out and she didn’t want to back out on him even though the prospect was terrifying to her. Loki stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her and she suddenly felt a little calmer. “You stayed up.”

Cassandra nodded. “I said I would.” She forced a smile to him and hugged him back. Loki rubbed her back, it helped to calm her nerves a little bit.

“You did not have to.” He kissed the side of her head. “I also think you are nervous.”

“What gave me away?”

“You are shaking in my arms, pet.” Loki pulled back and cupped her face in one hand, stroking her cheek. “I am not going to make you do anything you are uncomfortable with.” Cassandra was a little skeptical about that, but something in her wanted to trust him. “You believe me do you not?”

Cassandra nodded. “Yes, I…is it okay if we don’t do anything tonight?” She felt fear at losing his attentions and she didn’t know why. Losing his attentions was the ideal here since she couldn’t get reassigned away from him.

“Of course, I told you I will not make you do anything that you do not wish to do. However, I must ask, will you share a bed with me tonight? Just to sleep.” He looked hopeful when he asked, and Cassandra couldn’t believe that he was asking that of her. She nodded in response before she could fully process it. “Excellent.”

Cassandra let him nudge her towards her room so she could change. She felt like she was on autopilot as she undressed down to her underwear and put on a sleep shirt that had a scene from Sleeping Beauty on it. A wave of childishness swept over her as she realized how much of her personal wardrobe was child-like things. She took a deep breath and shook off the feeling as she headed back into the hallway and tapped on his door.

“Come in, pet.” Entering the room, she noticed that it was decorated the way she expected -- eloquently. The bed was high off the ground, obviously he had requested a different bed than hers, and had emerald green sheets and a black duvet. The walls had gold pieces of art and there were stacks of books on the nightstands as well as a full bookshelf. Sitting on the dresser as if it was ready to go at a moment’s notice was his leather armor and helmet, folded neatly. She looked back at him and noticed that he was wearing those pajama pants that hung low off his hips, exposing just about everything about him. Cassandra licked her lips at the sight, her mouth going dry. If this was just sex, she was sure she’d feel different about it, but this was intimacy that he was asking her for.

Loki smiled when she came in. “Come here.” His voice had a tone of authority he didn’t mean to convey in it, but it worked, and she walked over to him, eyes downcast. “Look at me.” She looked up and he leaned down, kissing her deeply. “We are just going to sleep, pet. I promise.”

Cassandra went to speak but he picked her up before she could say anything and placed her in the bed. “Loki!” He merely chuckled at her surprise. “Warn me next time.”

“I’m sorry, pet. I could not resist.” Loki laid beside her, pulling her into his arms so that her back was to his front. He placed soft kisses on her neck, his hand on her hip. She arched her neck, giving him better access and whimpered a little. “Besides, my bed is high off the ground, you look liked you could use a leg up.” 

“Hey! I’m not that short.” She wriggled until she was facing him, giving him a hard look. He watched as the resolve to be annoyed at him faded when he smiled and leaned in kissing her. “I’m not that short.” She mumbled against his lips again as if to reiterate that she was annoyed with him.

“I apologize for hitting a sore spot.” He adjusted their position, placing her head on his chest as he laid on his back. Did he just apologize, again, to her? And this time for something incredibly trivial. He looked down at her as she cautiously nuzzled into him, one hand on his chest which he covered with his own.

“Forgiven.” The two of them didn’t speak anymore as Cassandra yawned and began to fall asleep against him. Loki stayed awake until he was sure she was asleep, stroking her back lightly.

Cassandra woke to an alarm that wasn’t hers and felt confused. She didn’t know where she was immediately. She was asleep on something hard and firm, but warm. One leg was tossed over whatever it was like she did her body pillow. There was a grunt and movement under her and then the alarm stopped making its incessant beeping sound. Cassandra opened her eyes slowly, moving her hand to her mouth to wipe at the drool. Horror overtook her face as the memories flooded her. She had just left a puddle of drool on Loki’s chest. “Oh, oh no.”

“Mmph. Shh, fifteen more minutes until the annoying device goes off again.” Loki rolled into her, pulling her into his arms as he snuggled back into his pillow, an iron grip on her. Cassandra kept her mouth shut but felt embarrassment. Loki held her tightly the full fifteen minutes, groaning loudly as the alarm went off again. “Curses on this blasted thing.” He hit it, turning it off again and then turned to Cassandra. “Kiss me good morning.”

“I have morning breath.” Her face flushed as he kissed her anyways, pressing tight against her. She gasped as she felt something har pressed against her thigh, causing Loki to chuckle.

“Ignore that. Consequence of sleeping next to a beautiful creature such as yourself.” His hand went to her hair and pushed it back. “How did you sleep, pet?”

“I slept okay.” It was a lie; she had had the best sleep she had in ages against him. He looked at her quizzically. Right, lying to Loki was a dumb plan. “It was the best sleep I’ve had in ages, okay?”

“That is wonderful.” Fingers combed through her hair. “Shame we cannot just go back to sleep. I would much rather be in this bed with you than in the lab with Scott and Dr. Banner.”

Loki came into the apartment later than usual. Banner had brought in one of his students to the lab who showed promise in the department of physics and they had been talking until nearly midnight. The girl had been able to teach Loki a theory he had been messing up on and it had been delightful to learn something about Midgard sciences. He tried to be quiet, not wanting to wake up Cassandra but stopped when he saw the light in the living room was still on. Cassandra was sitting on the couch, her legs pulled up to her chest. He frowned; something felt off. “Cassandra?”

She turned towards him, her face tear stained and furious. “What?” Her tone was bitter, as if someone had wronged her. Loki moved slowly towards her, confused as to what could have happened that led her to being so upset. “What do _you_ want?” she spat.

His eyebrows raised at the accusatory tone in her voice. “To know what has my beautiful pet so upset.”

“Oh don’t ‘pet’ me!” She threw the throw pillow at him. He quickly dodged it, grabbing it with his free hand. “Oh of course I can’t even hit you.”

Cassandra made to get up and leave the room and Loki gently placed his palm on the top of her shoulder, and she stopped mid-stride, looking up at him. There was a fire in her tear-soaked face he hadn’t seen before. “What have I done, Cassandra?”

“I saw you! I’m such a damned fool. I saw you with that girl from Dr. Banner’s advanced physics class.” Loki had a moment of confusion, and then it dawned on him. Cassandra was jealous. But for her to be jealous, that meant…

“Cassandra, do you have feelings for me?” He knew the question was blunt, but he didn’t know how else to phrase it.

He watched as her face turned pink, and her mouth opened and closed several times as she tried to rebut him. “I…I don’t know what you mean.” She held her head high. “I am here to _watch_ you. Nothing more.”

“Cassandra.” He put a bit more pressure in his tone and tilted her chin up with his fingertip so that she was looking at him. “How many times are you going to try and lie to me? Do you have feelings for me?” Repeating the question as he stared at her was a lot harder.

“Why do you care if I do? You seemed quite happy flirting with that other girl!”

Loki almost laughed but stopped himself, knowing that would make it worse. “Cassandra, I was not flirting with her. Answer my question.”

“Yes, okay? I’ve been asking for three days to get reassigned.”

“Reassigned?” He looked confused. “Why?”

“Because it is unprofessional. You are…a…”

“Target?” She nodded weakly and he could see in her eyes she didn’t like that term. “I do not want you reassigned. I was not flirting with that other girl. I like you too,” he paused for a moment in thought. “A whole Hel of a lot, if I’m being honest.” He was suddenly angry they were fighting over this.

Cassandra looked away from him and burst into fresh tears. “Loki, I don’t know what to do.”

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against his chest. “Don’t know what to do about what, Cassandra?”

“This. It’s driving me absolutely bonkers.” Loki wasn’t immediately familiar with the term bonkers, but he felt he understood her meaning. “I want you.” Her voice came out a choked whisper. “So bad, but I know you’d be happier with someone like that hyper intelligent physicist.”

Loki laughed this time; he couldn’t help it. “If that is what you think, then you truly have learned nothing of me over the past month and a half. She is barely my type; it was intellectual discourse nothing more.”

Cassandra stared up at him, wanting to trust him more than anything. “Loki…” Her voice faded off and she turned away from his grasp. She studied his face and crossed her arms. “I want to believe you.”

“So, believe me.” He held out a hand. “Come, spend the night with me again. Let me prove that I have no ill intentions. Just trust me.” His voice dropped into that low octave that made her forget everything. A hand reached up and wiped her tears away, cupping her face.

“Wait, do you have feelings for me?” she asked incredulously. Loki smiled at her and kissed her instead of answering, causing her to forget what she was asking for a second. “Hey…” She felt him tugging her towards her room and followed, suddenly stopping. “Answer me! I answered you.”

“Oh, my pet.” Loki was suddenly standing over her, looking down at her. “Was that kiss not good enough to convey the answer to your question? Do you want another?”

“I want a direct answer.” She looked at him defiantly.

“Very well. You are the single reason that I am co-operating with the Avengers so that I can find a way to bring back your friends that you lost. You are responsible for feelings raising in me that I did not even know that I could have. Every waking moment I think of how I can better your day.” He stroked her cheek as her expression softened. His voice dropped to a whisper, “If I thought it would make you happy, I would take over this world and install you as its queen.”

Cassandra’s eyes went wide at his confession and she suddenly felt foolish for thinking so negatively of him earlier. “Oh,” was all she could manage as she stared at him in wonder.

He smiled at her. “Come, let us clean you up and get you to bed. Natasha will not go easy on you in the morning just because you were up late worrying about my affections.”

Loki was right, Natasha did not go easy on Cassandra the next day at all. She collapsed against the mat at the end of training and took a big drink out of her water bottle. “Natasha, I need to tell you something.”

Natasha looked at her. “What is it?”

“I need to be reassigned. For real this time.”

“It’s always for real.” Natasha crossed her arms. “What happened?”

“We have…feelings for each other. It’s unprofessional for me to continue.” She decided to keep Loki’s confession to herself. There was no way she wanted anyone know to know that she was the only key that was keeping Loki from doing something improper.

Natasha’s eyes went wide. “Feelings? So, he’s compromised.”

“What?”

“He has feelings for you. You are the ticket to keeping him in check then.”

Cassandra bristled at that. “Are you _using_ me?”

Natasha looked at her and said flatly. “I was using you before the Asgardian fell in love with you, Cassandra. You know that.”

Cassandra deflated. “So, you won’t reassign me?”

Natasha shook her head. “No. Truth be told we couldn’t afford to get anyone else to take on Loki. This is your responsibility.”

Cassandra left the training area and headed up to the apartment feeling defeated. She was trying to do the right thing by being reassigned, but Natasha didn’t want to hear it. At least there was still a part of her that was pleased that she’d be going back to Loki tonight.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is just mostly smut. Sorry, not sorry.

Cassandra laid her head across Loki’s lap as he read and flipped television channels trying to find something that wasn’t about The Event. Loki looked down at her occasionally, the hand not holding his book stroking her ponytail. She kept it tied back most days now since she trained five to six days a week with Natasha. Loki finally put his book aside and grabbed the remote control, turning the television off. “I have a better idea of what we could do.”

Cassandra looked up at him, rolling to her back. “Oh?” She lazily reached a hand up and touched his cheek. “What’s that?” He smirked at her and slid his hand down her front, cupping her between the legs and rubbing just hard enough for her to feel it through her jeans. Legs opened more for him and she arched a little. “That…that sounds good.”

“Excellent.” Pulling his hand away he gently moved her. “Stand up, pet.” She did as he instructed, moving slowly and a little shyly. He moved her so she stood in front of him. “Take your clothes off.” Loki watched as she cautiously pulled off her shirt off, revealing a black lace bra that accentuated her large breasts perfectly. Leaning back, he spread his legs, tucking one hand behind his head, and resting the other on his thigh. She unbuttoned her jeans and slowly turned as she pushed them down, revealing a pair of black boy shorts that matched her bra.

Cassandra gasped as Loki reached out and grabbed her ass, squeezing it. “Do, you want me to take off more, Loki?”

“Oh, yes. I want it all off.” Loki adjusted his pants as he watched her unhook the bra without turning around and dropped it on the floor with her other clothes. He watched as she paused and slowly turned around, her thumbs hooking into her panties and pushing them off, her breasts hanging as she bent over. He groaned and leaned forward, grabbing her hips as she stepped out of the panties. “There you are, pet.”

Cassandra seemed to square herself like she did when she was getting ready to be assertive. “Your turn.” Her voice was shaky as she made what was meant to be a demand but came out more as a suggestion to him.

Loki laughed; he couldn’t help it. “Oh, is it?” She nodded, her resolve obviously weakening. “I think that first I am going to enjoy what I’m looking at.” Cassandra gasped as he pulled her into his lap by her hips. She tucked herself against him as his hand began to explore her body. “You are a work of art.” Carefully tipping her head up he kissed her deeply and she returned the kiss excitedly.

“Loki, don’t tease…” He pinched one of her nipples lightly before cupping the breast and massaging it. “Please.” His hand slid down her stomach and between her legs, she was already getting wet just from showing off for him. Loki let out a laugh and she whined at him.

“Oh, but I am going to tease you.” Fingers lightly explored her folds as she spread her legs just a little more for him. His lips pressed against her ear and he whispered. “I want you _begging_ me for it.” Loki felt her skin get flushed from arousal and smiled. “I want it to consume you before I give you what you want.”

Cassandra tangled a hand in Loki’s hair and moaned against him. Something about being naked in his lap while he was fully clothed, his fingers exploring her most intimate areas, was turning her on more than she thought possible. She let out a louder moan as his other hand grabbed her by the hair, pulling at it. “Cassandra,” His voice was in that lower octave that she noticed he had when he wanted her. “I’m going to pick you up and carry you to the bedroom.”

The hand that was exploring her was gone and she didn’t have time to protest before Loki had lifted her up, carrying her to his room without so much as a second thought to her size. She squeaked and held onto him tightly, no one had been able to pick her up like this before. She playfully swatted at him as he set her down on the bed. “You know I don’t like it when you pick me up.”

“I know, which is part of why I like doing it.” Loki straightened up and began pulling his own clothes off. He stripped down to his boxers and stood watching Cassandra. She swallowed and reached out and pulled them down, gasping as his cock revealed. It was just slightly larger than anything she had been with before. She licked her lips, eyes focused on it as her mouth went dry at the sight. “Like what you see?”

“Yes,” She whispered it as if this was a dream that was going to disappear on her. His hand was in her hair again and before she really knew what she was doing, she had a hand wrapped around his cock. Stroking slowly, she turned her eyes to his face to make sure she was doing what he liked. The hand in her hair gripped tighter and he gave a moan.

“You are going to make it hard for me to tease you.” Loki released her hair and stroked her face. “Move back.” He nudged her up the bed, causing her to huff as she let go of him. “Lay back on the pillows.”

Cassandra did as she was told, her eyes wide as she watched Loki climb over her. Maybe he wasn’t going to tease? He kissed her, moving from her mouth to her neck. Teeth scraped her skin for just a moment before he bit down. “Loki!” A growl was the response she got as he added a bit of suction to the bite, working on leaving a mark. She wanted to care, but it felt too good to stop him.

Loki pulled back and admired his work. “Wonderful.” He looked pleased with himself for a moment before ducking his head and taking a nipple in his mouth this time. Cassandra gasped and began to play with his hair, enjoying how gentle his touches were now. The juxtaposition between his rough bite and how gently his hand slid down her bare leg, stopping to cup her thigh, made her groan. Loki pulled back, scraping lightly again with his teeth, and slid the other hand down her body, pressing two fingers into her sensitive folds. “Let us see how wet you are now, pet.”

Cassandra moaned as he slid two fingers in her with ease. “Loki,” she moaned, “Fuck, Loki.” Her eyes slid closed as he began working her up. She had never been with someone who seemed to care about her getting off more than themselves. Everything about Loki was new to her.

“You like how I touch you, Cassandra?” She nodded and spread her legs a bit more, giving him better access. Loki suddenly pulled his fingers out and she cried out in protestation. “Shh. I’m going to give you something better.” Her eyes fluttered open and she watched as he slid down her body. He slid an arm under each of her legs, kissing and then biting down on her thigh. Cassandra squealed at the bite and squirmed under him, but he pinned her with his arms. “Just wait.”

“What are you…” Loki cut her question short by biting the other thigh a little rougher. His mouth then led a trail of kisses up and he groaned. He could feel the heat pouring off of her, and her scent made his mouth water. Loki licked his lips before he practically dove in, lapping at her entrance. Cassandra moaned and writhed beneath him, but he pinned her hips as his mouth worked on her. “Loki.”

Loki couldn’t help but think she tasted sweet, like a candy he had never been able to get his hands on. He slowly slid his tongue up to her clit and sucked it between his lips, moaning at her reaction. Cassandra dug both hands in his hair and tugged. Loki pulled back to catch some air, sliding two fingers in her. “You taste so good, pet.” Licking his lips, he went back to her clit, working two fingers in her as he gently sucked at the little bundle of nerves.

Cassandra tightened her grip on his hair, guiding his head just a little to the right and cried out. It was less than a minute before she came against Loki’s fingers, almost shouting his name. She slapped a hand over her mouth, releasing his hair as she melted into the mattress. Loki smiled and lapped at the wetness before pulling back and grinning at her. He waited until she opened her eyes again, “May I kiss you?” She looked up at him and nodded, whispering her consent. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, causing her to taste herself. Cassandra moaned and kissed back, opening her mouth for a deeper kiss.

“So good, Cassandra.” He kissed her again. “Now then, are you sure you want to go further?” Cassandra looked up at him, confusion on her face.

“Please, Loki. Just…please.” The desperation in her voice made him grow harder somehow. He shook his head, indicating that wasn’t enough. He wanted to hear her say it, beg him for it. “Loki, please take me. Take me now.”

“Is that the best you can do?” He kissed her, rubbing his cock against her entrance teasingly. Loki was unsure he could hold out.

Cassandra cried out, “Loki, Please, please.” She whimpered and clung to him. “I need you. I need to feel you in me.” Her lips found his again and he groaned. That would do. Loki positioned himself and pressed forward slowly. Cassandra gasped as Loki began to fill her. He gripped the sheet tightly, trying to go slow as he entered what felt like the best place on Midgard. Cassandra groaned, moving her legs to lock around him.

“Cassandra, pet, you feel so wonderful.” Loki began to move in her, thrusting carefully and gently at first. He picked up pace when he felt her buck up against him.

“Loki, gods yes. Yes…”

“Cassandra, pet, I’m so close.” Cassandra kissed over his face, pushing his hair back as she watched him. He adjusted his thrust and hit _that_ spot inside of her. Cassandra tugged Loki’s hair making him growl at her.

“Oh, Loki…Right there. There is perfect.” He maintained his thrusts in that position and she cried out as she managed to release again, gripping his cock tightly. Loki swore loudly as he released in her, thrusting deeply. He collapsed against her, holding himself up on his forearms and groaning. Cassandra released his hair and let her legs fall, feeling him slip out of her at the same time.

Loki fell to the side of her, holding onto her and kissing wherever he could. They lay there for a long time, gripping to each other. Loki began to pet her hair softly. “Cassandra…” She made a murmuring noise, nuzzling against him. “We need to clean up.”

“I don’t want to move.” She clung to him, not wanting to move or get up in any fashion. Cassandra only wanted to lay in bed and bask in Loki petting and kissing her.

“I know, pet. But we must. Come on.” Loki got up and pulled her with him, dragging her to his shower. She reluctantly went, letting herself be dragged along. He turned the shower in and pushed her into the warm water. Cassandra made a noise of protest but let him begin to wash her down.

“I can bathe myself.”

“I know you can but let me take care of you.” Cassandra relented and let him bathe her, leaning against him under the stream of water. “There you go. Nice and clean. Now we can get back to bed.”

The two of them curled up in Loki’s bed after drying off. He laid on his side and pulled her to him so that her back was to his front, spooning up behind her. Cassandra smiled and melted against him. If Natasha wasn’t going to reassign her, then Cassandra was going to enjoy the affections and go with the flow. “Loki,” she said with a soft voice. “Thank you.”

“You do not have to thank me, love.” Cassandra made a purring noise when he said that and snuggled back against him.

Loki woke up to the incessant beeping of his alarm clock and groaned loudly. He rolled over and hit the button, turning off the machine. He then felt Cassandra snuggled up to him and smiled. “Oh, good morning.” He kissed her temple and wrapped himself back around her. She was warm and it felt right to be holding her in his arms this early.

“Mmm, morning.” Cassandra smiled when he kissed her temple. “I slept very well again last night.”

“That’s three in a row. Maybe you should just sleep in my room now, hmm?”

Cassandra laughed and turned to face him. “I knew you’d say that.” Loki studied her face and then made a grimace as he saw the long thin purple mark on her neck. “What?”

“Um, the mark I left on you. It is _very_ obvious.” He laughed. “I am so sorry, pet.”

Cassandra’s hand flew to her neck and she ran to the bathroom, checking herself in the mirror. “Loki!” She came back in looking very angry.

“You did not seem to mind when I put that on you last night.” He smirked at her, that mischievous glint in his eyes showing that he was not remorseful in the least.

“Everyone will know.” Cassandra climbed onto the bed, her legs hanging off, and looked at him. “This definitely doesn’t look like a bruise that Natasha would give me in training.”

“I know, I know.” He moved behind her, kissing the spot. “I am not sorry I marked you as mine, I am sorry that it is causing you distress. Next time I will try to put the mark somewhere that no one but me can see.”

Cassandra relaxed against him. “I’m not terribly mad, but yes, discreet marks in the future.”

Loki teleported the two of them down after breakfast and glanced around the hallway, he didn’t see anyone there and he pulled Cassandra close, stealing a kiss before he let her go off to training. She playfully swatted at him and dashed off, embarrassed that he had been so bold. He went into the lab and leaned back against the wall, looking at Scott. “Scott, tell me, how much money will Natasha lose if Cassandra and I admit that we are an item today instead of tomorrow.”

Scott spit out his coffee, making a mess over some of Dr. Banners work. He quickly began cleaning it up. “What…money? What are you talking about, Loki?”

“Don’t play with me, I heard the betting on Sunday night. Who wins if we admit it today or Friday?”

“IF you admit it today nobody wins. If you admit it on Friday, then Steve wins. Natasha would lose five hundred bucks.”

Loki nodded. “Well, then. Someone should tell Captain Rogers he’s going to win some money.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANGST.

Cassandra was sitting outside after her training session with Natasha and taking in the crisp fall air. She looked over as she saw Steve and Scott coming out as well. They didn’t notice her as they moved across the yard, appearing to have a conversation of sorts that they wanted out of earshot of the rest of the compound. She squinted and adjusted her position just slightly to where she could hear what was being said. Cassandra knew that spying on Steve was not ideal, but this was an opportunity to practice some of the other skills that she had been learning from Natasha and, to some extent, Loki.

Steve crossed his arms. “We need to call it off, then. If they know, it’s no good. It was a bad plan to begin with, Scott. You were all a little drunk when you came up with the idea and honestly, we shouldn’t be betting on the love life of a friend.”

Scott nodded. “I agree man, but Loki said they’d probably admit it tomorrow. It’ll all blow over and Cassandra doesn’t have to know.” Cassandra’s eyes narrowed. Won’t know what?

“Yes, but Loki knows and if he’s planning on when to get her to admit it, then the whole thing is rigged. Call it off, Scott.”

Scott raised his hands. “When you’re right, you’re right, Cap. I’ll tell everyone the bet is off. What I really want to know is how he found out.”

Cassandra’s eyes went wide, and she turned and dashed into the building, the door slamming behind her. She had just begun to _trust_ Loki. Certainly, he wasn’t hiding a secret from her now that she had learned to trust him. There was no way he would keep something like this from her. Natasha, sure. Steve, probably. Scott, most definitely. But Loki? He said he was trying to prove himself to her. She headed up to their apartment. She was in a rage; the elevator had never moved so slow in her opinion.

She took a deep breath before opening the door, centering herself for the conflict that was about to happen. Loki was standing in the kitchen, putting together sandwiches for the two of them. “Good afternoon, pet. I’m making us sandwiches for lunch.”

Cassandra tried to be calm, trying to keep the anger out of her voice as she said very coolly, “Tell me what is going on.”

Loki set the knife down and turned to look at her. “Cassandra?”

“Tell me what is going on.” She said it through clenched teeth this time, mostly to keep herself from crying.

Loki stared at her and sighed. She must have found out about the betting. “The rest of the team has a bet on when we will go public with our affections for each other.” Cassandra immediately turned as red as her hair. Loki suddenly felt a wave of something he very rarely felt. Regret. He moved to get closer to her, to touch her in some way. His heart sank as she took a step back.

“How dare you not tell me?” She was angry. He couldn’t blame her, really.

“I did not want to hurt you.” He said it plainly. It was the truth; he had kept it from her to prevent her from being hurt. He wanted to go down and shove one of his knives in Scott’s back for even coming up with this betting because of the look on her face.

Cassandra just stared at him, an incredulous look on her face. “You didn’t want to _hurt me?_ What do you think I’m feeling right now, Loki? Having just overheard Steve and Scott talking about calling off the bet because you knew about it! And were trying to plan for me to admit my feelings for you publicly tomorrow!”

Definitely going to stab Scott. “Cassandra, pet…”

“DO NOT CALL ME THAT!” Loki’s eyebrows went up. She was angrier than he thought she was. He put his hands up, taking a step back. “Don’t you dare call me that right now.”

“Cassandra, I am so sorry. I wanted to prevent this, I thought hiding it…”

She cut him off. “Hiding it and manipulating the results! You weren’t thinking about me, you were thinking about the fun you could have at _my_ expense.”

“No, no not at your expense.” Loki felt wretched as he saw the look on Cassandra’s face go from one of resolve to one of panic. “Never at your expense. I want to manipulate their bet so that there was no winner, except maybe Steve.”

“Oh, oh god.” Cassandra put her hand on her chest and turned away from him, beginning to breathe heavy. She was on the verge of a panic attack if he didn’t calm her down soon. “I was beginning to trust you. I trusted you.” She turned back towards him. “I _trusted_ you.”

“Cassandra, breathe.” He took a slow step towards her, measuring his pace so that he wouldn’t set her off. “You need to relax a little, let me explain.”

“Explain _what_?” Her voice hissed at him and she was beginning to shake. “You are the god of mischief, aren’t you? Isn’t this just your fucking wheelhouse?”

Loki twitched a little but didn’t stop trying to calm her down. “If you do not relax, you are going to get yourself into a state.”

“I’m already in a state, Loki, in case you missed it.”

Cassandra felt her heartbeat quickening and her breathing getting shallower. How could she have been so foolish as to have trusted the self-proclaimed Prince of Lies? She heard Loki saying something and it sounded like he was underwater this time. “What? What did you say?” Loki spoke again but she still didn’t quite understand, and it made her angrier. She felt tears forming in her eyes. They were tears of betrayal and anger at not being able to contain herself.

Cassandra went to speak and felt no words coming out. She was frustrated at not being able to get her words out. He was still speaking, and she couldn’t understand because all that was racing through her head was how she had let herself be played by Loki. He didn’t really care about her. He had used her as a pawn in a game that she couldn’t understand. Suddenly a warm presence enveloped her about the same time she began to sob. She vaguely heard some shushing noises, but ignored them, letting the whole pent up pile of emotions out.

Fifteen minutes passed before Cassandra came back to herself, panting and tear streaked. Her head was against Loki’s chest and he was stroking her hair, trying to soothe her. She hadn’t had a panic attack in years, and because of that she had honestly thought them a thing of the past for her. The sudden wave of exhaustion and relief that always crept over her when she was done began to wash over her. “I’m okay.” She whispered, more to herself than to Loki, and began to untangle herself from his grasp. His release was reluctant, but he did let her go, ducking his head to check on her. “I’m okay.”

“Pet, you are not okay, and it is my fault. What can I do?” He stroked her hair, wiping her face some.

“Stop playing games with me. Stop calling me ‘pet’.” She looked up at him and carefully moved his hand. “Stop trying to trick and manipulate me.” Her voice came out hoarse.

“I am not trying to manipulate you into caring for me, Cassandra. I apologize, with all earnestness, for not telling you about the betting.” He sighed. “I thought it would embarrass you to find out about it and that you would be angry with them. I thought if I one-upped them and rigged their bet then they would see the foolishness of it and call it off before you found out.”

“You know what the most frustrating thing is? I want to believe you.” Cassandra stepped back. “But I shouldn’t. I need…I need space.” She went to her room, shutting the door behind her before she collapsed into her cold bed and cried more, ignoring her afternoon training.

Loki watched as Cassandra went to her room and he heard her break into fresh tears. He wanted to step in and help but his better judgement made him back away from her door and leave her to her tears. He turned his attentions to the group downstairs and felt his anger at them building. He stormed out o the apartment and went downstairs to find any of them to unleash his anger on. He came upon Natasha first and snapped. “Romanov.”

She turned to him. “Don’t use that tone with me, Loki.”

“Where is Scott? I am going to put the fear of a god into him.”

“What has you riled up? Where is Cassandra?” Natasha stepped in front of Loki. “Don’t make me call Steve.”

“Cassandra is locked in her room distraught over the bet that you made about us on Sunday.” His eyes flashed as he pushed past her and headed towards the lab. “I do not think Cassandra will be making training. She is to be left in peace or I will raze this pathetic building to the ground.” He hissed over his shoulder.

Natasha went wide-eyed and disappeared in a room. Loki didn’t care what she did or who she told as long as she left Cassandra alone. He stormed into the lab. “Scott? Where the bloody hell are you?”

Scott popped his head up from working on his suit. “I’m right here why?”

“Because I am about two seconds away from killing you. Your bet is _off_. Cassandra’s affairs are not to be subject of gossip any longer.” His voice was low, dangerous.

Scott put his hands up. “Whoa man, whoa. I already called the bet off cause you knew about it.”

Loki moved quickly, grabbing the human but the collar. “I do not care why you call it off, call it off. Leave Cassandra’s affairs out of your games, human.”

Scott knew he was out classed in this fight and kept his hands up. “Man, you got it. Just calm down.”

Loki shoved the man aside when the door opened and Steve came in, shield in hand. “Loki…”

Loki smiled and turned; he’d gladly fight Steve again if it put an end to the torture they were putting Cassandra through. “Yes, Steve?”

“Calm down. The bet was already called off earlier.”

“You all owe an apology.” He growled it, anger in his chest.

“You’re right, I’m sorry.”

“Not to me!” The words were spit with all the venom he could muster. “To Cassandra! You have put her through hell these past few weeks as she tried to get a reassignment, and now a bet on her affections for me.”

“I understand your frustration, Loki. I’d be furious if this was happening to someone I cared for, but you need to calm down.”

Loki sneered and pushed past Steve out of the lab. “I will be leaving the compound today to do some errands.” He conjured his clothes into his more professional black suit and tie. “Cassandra is to be left alone. I recommend that everyone find some way to apologize to her.”

Cassandra woke up in her bed, it was 5 p.m. She didn’t remember falling asleep. Hands rubbed her face and all the memories came flooding back. Cassandra grabbed her body pillow and hid her face in it. Loki had lied to her by omission, people she thought were her friends were betting behind her back, and she didn’t know what to do about any of it. The worst thing was what she wanted right now was the thing she shouldn’t want. Loki, holding her and comforting her and telling her it would be okay. She didn’t know who to be the maddest at.

Cassandra stood up and headed to her bathroom, turning on the shower. She took as hot a shower as she could stand and groaned. She would have to talk to medical about the panic attack she had just had in the middle of her assignment. The water washed over her for an extremely long time before she forced herself out of the shower, drying her hair in a t-shirt to dry instead of using her blow dryer. She pulled on a pair of pajamas because really at this point did it matter what she wore?

Cassandra braced herself and walked into the common room to find it empty. No Loki, only a bouquet of white orchids, roses, and lilies sitting on the counter of the kitchen with a handwritten note attached to it. She frowned and walked over grabbing the note.

_My Dearest Cassandra,_

_I leave these flowers here for you as a sign of the sincerity of my apology to you. I should never have kept anything that regarded you from your knowledge like I did. A lie by omission is still a lie and I know this. I will not lie to you anymore. I offer no excuse for my behavior. I hope that you find it in your heart to forgive me._

_\- Loki_

_P.S. There is a dinner for you waiting in the fridge._

Cassandra fought back a smile at the flowers, the meaning of which she wasn’t missing. She walked over to the fridge and opened it, finding a freshly made bowl of pasta salad and a slice of her favorite cheesecake next to it. She sighed and took out the cheesecake, bumping the fridge closed and grabbing a fork. Cassandra sat on the couch with the chocolatey dessert and began eating it slowly. Was he trying to buy back her good graces or was he sincere?

Loki had placed the treats for Cassandra and then went downstairs to glare at everyone else. He wouldn’t have them interrupt her coming to terms with her emotions right now. The rest of the team looked contrite under his glare. They had apologized to Loki and were all coming up with ways to make amends for the embarrassment they had caused Cassandra.

Loki brooded for a good hour in the corner, before turning to leave, leaving an illusion of himself behind again as he did so. He teleported upstairs and opened the door slowly, noticing that Cassandra had come out of her room. Walking in he didn’t say anything, not wanting to disturb her silence.

She turned to look at him. “Loki.”

“Cassandra…” He was going against his nature by trying to be as sincere as possible. “I hope that the flowers and…”

Cassandra put a finger up silencing him. She patted the seat next to her and he immediately crossed to sit next to her. He was leaned forward, elbows on his knees as he waited for her to speak. It was several minutes before she spoke up. “I think I love you.” Loki’s head snapped to the right to stare at her. She said it with no emotion behind it, simply stated it as a matter of fact.

“Beg your pardon?” He wanted to make sure he had heard what she had said correctly before he responded to it.

“I said, I think I love you.” She shrugged. “I shouldn’t. You are probably going to lie to me a million times. You are probably using me in some scheme to get even with the Avengers, or to hurt me in the long run but I am definitely falling in love with you.”

Loki stared at her, processing the words. He shifted so he was facing Cassandra and cupped her face in his hands. “Cassandra, hear this now; I promise that I will confide in you anything you wish. I will not use you as a trick, and I will not lie by omission to you again either.” He stroked her cheek as a tear fell down it, wiping it away from her. “Come here.” He enveloped her in his arms as she cautiously moved forward. Pressing his lips to her ear he whispered very softly, “I love you. You have my word on that.”

Cassandra pulled back, looking up at him and studied into his face. He was trying to convey sincerity in his facial expression. She placed a hand on his face and stroked it gently, studying him. Loki closed his eyes as she did so, he had been afraid after her panic attack she wouldn’t want to touch him again. He would have missed this. “I am going to hold you to that.”

Loki smiled and very slowly leaned in and pressed his lips to Cassandra’s. She didn’t push him back, instead pulling him forward for the kiss. He grabbed her and gently slid her into his lap, holding her ever more closely. His hands tangled through her still damp hair, tugging tangles out as he did so. “You may hold me to anything you wish, Cassandra.” With that sentence, Loki knew that he had found the weakest link he would ever have.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a slow chapter. Feedback welcomed!

Cassandra sat in Loki’s lap, her head finding its way to her shoulder. He rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. Loki wanted to ask if they were ok for now, but he didn’t want to push the issue. For now, he would accept her cradled in his arms. Silence seemed like the best course of action for now. They sat like that for nearly an hour when Loki shifted and finally spoke. “I must confess to you that I may have chastised the entire team for their bet situation tonight.”

Cassandra looked at him. “You did _what_?”

“I demanded that they all apologize to you for betting on your affections for me.”

A flush took over her cheeks and she buried her face against him. “Loki…”

“I hope I did not overstep any boundaries. I was just very angry and had nowhere to express said anger.”

“You didn’t.”

Loki hugged her tightly. He would be damned if anyone would make her feel as poorly as he had or as embarrassed as the team had again. He waited a few moments before asking softly, “Cassandra, do you want to sleep in my bed tonight?”

She got a pensive look on her face and the nodded slowly. “Yes, but I have a condition. I want us to wear pajamas tonight.”

Loki nodded, glad to acquiesce to such a simple request. “Of course. That is easy enough.” He tucked a stray curl behind her ear and kissed her softly.

Cassandra stretched as she awoke from a deep sleep against Loki and rolled over grabbing her phone to check the time. It was five a.m. She still had two more hours. Noticing she had several missed messages from Natasha, she scrolled through them. The bulk of the messages were an apology and dismissing her from training for the day. She set her phone back down as she felt Loki stir and grab her. “Come here.” Cassandra made a soft noise as she was pulled back down into his warm grasp. He pulled the blankets back over her, tucking his arm around her. “Mmph, better.”

She lay there listening to the silence as he fell back asleep against her, thinking of his confessions. She was fairly certain she was in love with him, but she was trying to be cautious because what if this wasn’t the right play? Seriously, look who she was dealing with here. There were tons of logistical things to consider being with Loki. He suddenly nuzzled her more, pressing closer and she sighed; she’d worry about the logistical problems later. For now, she had the love of a God and it made her feel warm and special.

Cassandra fell asleep against him again, barely registering when he turned the alarm off two hours later. She made a few sleepy noises and curled up against him more. “Shh, I don’t have to work.”

His grip tightened on her and he mumbled against her. “I’m not going in either.”

“Why not?”

“Until an apology has been issued to you from each member, I think it best I am not around them. I very nearly stabbed Scott yesterday.”

“Loki!” She sighed. “You can’t go around trying to stab people! That’s something that will get you in the Raft for sure.”

He nodded. “I know, I know.” Loki’s rubbed her arm. “I just, was blinded by the rage I felt. They caused you pain, Cassandra!”

“I understand, I do. But you really can’t go around trying to stab people.” 

The two of them stayed in bed extra-long before Cassandra finally pulled Loki out of bed to get coffee. “Come on, I need my sanity.”

Loki laughed and let himself be tugged along into the living area where they silently made a breakfast together. Cassandra sighed as she began sugaring and creaming up her coffee, taking a sip with delight. Loki broke the silence, “Waking up I see.” Cassandra nodded and then made Loki’s cup, which was much easier as he took his black. She handed it to him, and he grinned at her. Something about her waiting on him did things to him that he couldn’t explain. He had always been so self-sufficient, but her attempts at taking care of him were something else. Loki took the cup and kissed her on the forehead. “Thank you.”

Cassandra suddenly got a nervous look on her face. “You can call me um, could you call me…” She huffed, frustrated she couldn’t get the words out.

Loki smirked, taking a sip of his coffee. Watching her get flustered was another secret pleasure of his. “What do you want me to call you, Cassandra?”

“Um, I just really do like when you call me pet.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

Loki set his cup and then hers on the counter, taking her in his arms. He stroked her cheek and leaned in to whisper against her ear. “I love you, pet.” He felt her shudder in his arms and immediately hug him. Loki smiled and tipped her head gently so he could kiss her, holding her tightly. “I will always call you pet when you want me to.”

Cassandra nodded. “Just don’t do it when I’m angry with you. It makes me angrier.”

“Understood, pet.” Cassandra giggled and smiled up at him, her eyes twinkling. There. That was where he wanted to see her, happy and smiling. He would do anything with in his power to keep her there. “Let’s finish up breakfast and then maybe teleport somewhere fun.”

“It is November, where could we go that would be fun?”

Loki shrugged. “You know Midgard better than I.”

“Hmm, Well, we could go downstairs and get those apologies you say I’m owed.” She looked at him. “Or maybe we just stay here and um…” Her voice trailed off and Loki looked at her, taking a long drink of his coffee.

“Stay here and what?”

Cassandra flushed and looked away from him. “Do things.”

“What sort of things?” Loki already knew what she wanted, but he was going to make her say it.

“I, well, you know I just think it would be nice if we stayed here and um, maybe you make love to me again?” Her words had started out as if she was going to make a statement and then ended in a question.

Loki chuckled. “That sounds like a very lovely idea. I think I like that plan of yours much better than anything else.”

The two of them spent the morning doing exactly what Cassandra had suggested. When they had finished cleaning up, taking much longer in the shower than was necessary, Cassandra sighed. “I should probably go downstairs and get those apologies I am owed.”

Loki nodded. “Probably. Do you want me with you?”

“Absolutely.” She headed to her room to dress and Loki followed her, merely conjuring his own clothes just so he could watch her. “Can I help you?”

“I am just watching the most beautiful thing in the 9 realms get dressed.” He lounged on her bed, obviously enjoying her blush. Cassandra began digging through her dresser, finding a pair of underwear and a bra. Loki made a tsking sound as she covered up her body. “Such a shame you are unable to walk around naked all the time.” She laughed at him as she pulled on a t-shirt with the words “fueled by coffee and chaos” across it. “I fuel you, pet?”

Cassandra looked down at her shirt and sighed. “I will change if you don’t behave. I’ll wear something baggy and unappealing.” She grabbed a pair of black jeans and pulled them on, jumping a little to get them over her hips and butt. Loki made a noise of appreciation as she finished with her boots, tucking her knife into its holster.

“If you want, pet, I can always teach you some of my knife skills.” He smiled, pulling her down on him when she came over. “I would love to teach you some Asgardian fighting techniques.”

She smiled at him. “We can try, but I don’t think I’ll be as good as you.”

“Of course not, I’ve been practicing for over 600 years.” Cassandra wriggled away from him and pulled at him. “Oh fine, I’ll stop stalling.”

The two of them went to head downstairs and jumped when a female voice came over the A.I. system that was not supposed to be working. “Iron Man, incoming.”

Cassandra looked at Loki. “That’s F.R.I.D.A.Y. What is going on?”

Loki shrugged at Cassandra. “You know as much as I know, pet. But something tells me I will not be wanted downstairs.”

Cassandra nodded. “Stay here then while I go see what’s happening.” She headed downstairs; the elevator didn’t seem as slow as it had the day before. She stepped outside to see Natasha, Dr. Banner, Steve, and Scott looking up just as Tony Stark landed in full Iron Man regalia. “What is going on?”

Steve looked over at her. “We took to the information about time travel to Tony finally. Where is Loki?”

“Upstairs in our quarters.” She felt a prickle at the back of her neck and suddenly doubted Loki’s location. “He felt he might not be wanted around Iron Man.” She turned and got a quick glimpse of him shushing her before he disappeared again with a quick shimmer. She didn’t think he could hide from F.R.I.D.A.Y. but she understood his desire to be included in whatever was about to happen.

Tony stepped out of his suit and walked towards the group with purpose. “I figured it out. Get Point Break, the raccoon, and whoever…” he stopped when F.R.I.D.A.Y. interrupted, alerting everyone to Loki’s presence in the common room. Loki quickly appeared, holding his hands up in complete innocence. “What is he doing here?”

Steve began explaining the situation with Loki to Steve as Cassandra watched both them carefully. Tony didn’t look happy about Loki’s presence in the least. Cassandra moved more towards Loki, putting herself between the team and him. Steve turned and nodded to Cassandra. “Meet his handler, Cassandra O’Halloran.”

“What’s her superpower?”

“Doesn’t have one.” Steve shrugged. “She started out as a cultural liaison and has been training some minor spy craft under Natasha the past couple of weeks.”

“So, you have a non-enhanced human who isn’t even trained in spying watching the man who nearly destroyed the earth.” He made a face, nodding. “Sounds about right, I leave for five years and you completely destroy everything.”

Cassandra bristled at the way she was being addressed and jumped when she felt Loki touch her shoulder, calming her. Loki spoke softly, “I understand your reticence to trust me, however, I have been working on a way for this time travel idea of Scott’s to be successful.”

“Well you failed. I figured it out, you’re not needed.” Tony turned to Steve. “Put him in the Raft.”

Cassandra burst out. “You will not!” Loki’s grip on her shoulder didn’t even seem to calm her. “He has spent 6 weeks assimilating and helping out. He has pulled no tricks. There have been no murders by his hand. He has become a model Asgardian.”

Tony crossed his arms, studying Cassandra. After a few minutes he turned to Steve, “I stand corrected. You have a compromised non-enhanced human who isn’t even trained in spying.”

“I am _not_ compromised.” She glared at Tony. “Natasha has been told everything that goes on with Loki.”

Loki spoke up finally. “Cassandra is correct. Everything I do is reported and discussed with Steve and Natasha.” He still didn’t move his hand from Cassandra’s shoulder, gripping her firmly.

Tony glared at him. “Well I’m not working with you on the project.”

“That is fine by me. I have not been of any help as far as that goes. I will gladly accept whatever Steve has in mind or head back to New Asgard.”

“With your little compromised agent in tow, I’m sure.” Cassandra bristled and went to take a step forward, but Loki held her back. “I see she’s a bit feisty, too. Listen, sweetheart…”

Before Tony could finish his sentence, Cassandra was out of Loki’s grasp and had her knife at Tony’s throat. “Do _not_ call me sweetheart. My name is Cassandra O’Halloran and I am here to bring those we lost back. I will not jeopardize that mission.” Tony moved to disarm her, but she simply used the techniques Natasha had taught her, flipping her knife to the other hand, and putting it back to his throat. “You will be polite to me.”

Loki’s eyebrows went up in appreciation and he felt, well frankly aroused to see her standing up against one of Earth’s heroes. He watched as Natasha pulled Cassandra away and put her back in front of him. Cassandra had a death grip on her knife and was glaring at Tony. “Tony,” Natasha started. “Cassandra has proven valuable to our eyes on Loki. If you don’t want to work with him, fine, but we are not sending him to the Raft.”

Tony shook his head. “Your funeral. Banner and whoever you are” he gestured to Bruce and Scott. “Let’s get this started.” He headed to the lab, ignoring the presence of Loki.

Cassandra watched as the three men headed to the lab and slowly relaxed, putting her knife away. “Fucking Stark.” She muttered. Loki agreed with her, but he also understood why Stark hated him. The man did almost die trying to stop the Chitauri attack, from what Thor had told him. Cassandra’s glare then turned to Steve. “Well?”

Steve jumped. “Oh! Right. Cassandra I am sorry that I let the team make bets like that. It was irresponsible of me to let them do that.” He sighed. “I also will not be sending Loki to the Raft. Maybe you two could go and collect Thor for us?”

Loki looked up at Steve. “Would you be opposed to me using my teleportation, or must we use a quinjet?”

“Use the quinjet. It’s an official Avengers business trip. I’ll send you guys in the morning.” Cassandra already looked a little green at the prospect of having to use the quinjet again.

The quinjet landed in New Asgard with Cassandra gripping onto Loki. She was grateful for Loki bringing the ginger ale with them to make sure that she drank some during the flight as well as when they landed. She was at least slightly less sick as she had been after her first Mach 2 experience. The two of them looked up as they stepped off the quinjet and were greeted by Valkyrie. “Loki. Ms. O’Halloran. I am under the impression you are here to convince Thor to join the Avengers again?”

Loki nodded. “That is correct.” Cassandra shuddered and moved closer to Loki. He automatically put his arm around her, pulling her close to try and protect her from the cold of Norway. Valkyrie didn’t say anything but raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Cassandra shivered a little before asking Valkyrie to lead the way. It was too cold for them to be standing here while she questioned what was going on between the two of them. That was all about to come out under the gaze of Thor anyways. Valkyrie led them to Thor’s house and Cassandra was taken back by the smell. This was the house of a severely depressed person. She now understood why Valkyrie had greeted them and had taken on the job of leading.

Loki squared his shoulders as he entered and frowned. “Thor, brother.”

“Brother! You have come to visit finally.”

“I have been in New York, helping the Avengers.”

“That doesn’t sound like you at all.”

“Well it is what I am doing. I’ve come to collect you; we require your help.”

Cassandra remained quietly by the doorway, taking in Korg and Meik. It was the first time she had physically seen aliens who weren’t Asgardians and it was a bit unsettling. She crept up a little bit, standing behind Loki. Thor suddenly addressed her. “And who is this shy human?”

“Cassandra O’Halloran, your majesty. I am…” She hesitated for a second. “The agent that was assigned to Loki two months ago.”

Loki stepped aside, his arm naturally going around her shoulders. “She is also…”

Thor interrupted. “Not you. Not the Great Loki who thought humans a trivial thing that were beneath him.”

Cassandra felt Loki bristle at the jab and interjected. “That is not the reason why we are here. We are here because we require your help.”

It took them a half hour to convince Thor that he was needed in the mission and that only he would be the one who could successfully pull off whatever part of the plan Stark and Banner had come up with. Cassandra sighed, jumping a little as she felt Loki’s arms on her shoulder. “You did so well, pet.” He whispered in her ear. It made her shudder a little and she turned on her heel.

“Loki, behave.” She hissed back at him, heading back to the quinjet to wait on Thor. Loki chuckled as she walked away which only made her a little madder at him.


	12. Chapter 12

Cassandra sat listening to the plans that Steve was laying out. She was to go and investigate somewhere in New York City for what might be the remains of a HYDRA cell. She stared at him incredulously. “Steve, I’m not…why…what about Loki?”

“It’s a simple task, I can’t send Natasha she’s too well known. You are the right agent for this job, Scott will be with you as comms. I just need to know if it’s actually HYDRA or not. And don’t worry about Loki, I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Cassandra looked over at Loki and saw a glimpse of worry before he smiled at her. “You’re getting reassigned, Cassandra. Just what you have been asking for.”

Cassandra nodded. “Alright, Steve. I’ll take care of it.”

Loki was relaxing in the common room, waiting for news of Cassandra’s return. He was worried about her investigating a HYDRA cell, but he also believed in her abilities. She had become an excellent spy-in-training. Tony came in and looked at Loki stretched out. “Reindeer Games.”

“Tony.” The two were far from friendly with each other but had learned to get along to degree.

Tony stopped, cocking his head to one side the way he did when F.R.I.D.A.Y. spoke to him. His eyes went wide as he dashed out of the room, barking orders at his A.I. “Get medical team there. Get Cap and Hawkeye to New York as fast as possible to clear it out.” Loki sat up and immediately followed. Medical? Sending Steve and _Hawkeye_ to New York, what was going on? They had just gotten Hawkeye back into the group and he was a loose cannon. “Loki,” Tony’s voice was serious and not at all dripping with sarcasm as it usually was. “Sit. There. And don’t move no matter what.”

Loki looked at the seat that was pointed out for him and sat in it. “Tony…what is going on?”

Tony didn’t answer him, instead barking orders at F.R.I.D.A.Y. Tony dashed to the front, putting on his Iron Man suit. “I mean it, Loki. Stay there. No matter what you see.”

Tony was gone and Loki was left sitting outside of their med bay in confusion. He heard the quinjet for Steve and Hawkeye take off. Thirty minutes later he heard another one land. He stood, disobeying Tony’s orders to stay put, and went to see what was happening. Coming off of the quinjet was a full medical team with a stretcher between them. Scott was behind them, still in his Ant-Man gear. Scott immediately ran up to Loki and pulled him back. “I told Tony to put you somewhere.”

“What is going on?” Loki growled, tired of being kept in the dark about a situation that appeared to involve Cassandra. The stretcher came past him and his eyes went wide. She was on the stretcher, bleeding from her stomach. Her eyes were closed. Loki felt time slow to a crawl as he watched her wheeled into the med bay.

“It’s Starks personal med team. It’s going to be okay.”

Loki turned on Scott and grabbed him. “What. Happened.” His words were biting and clear.

“It _was_ a HYDRA cell, okay? And it went pear shaped. Cassandra actually did really well, took out one of the agents before she took the gunshot…”

“Correct me if I am wrong but a gunshot wound to the stomach is usually, fatal.”

“They _can_ be.” Scott was trying to calm Loki, but it was obvious he was out of his depth. “Natasha survived one much worse from Winter Soldier if my memory on stories serves.”

Loki turned to go into the med bay and was stopped by Natasha. “Loki, he’s right. I survived a pretty nasty gunshot wound to the stomach and Cassandra is tough. You can’t go in there while they’re working on her. You will just be in the way. Sit.” She directed him to a seat and sat next to him.

Surgery. Loki sat, feeling completely helpless that there was nothing he could do to help Cassandra at this time. He growled in frustration and glared at Scott. “You were supposed to protect her.”

“I did! She’s just stubborn as…you know.” Scott sat down. “It just went pear shaped, man.” He repeated himself before filling Loki in on the details. How the HYDRA agents figured out that Cassandra was spying on them and how he had personally deflected at least three bullets off of her before he missed one. “I feel awful, man. I tried so hard.”

Loki put his elbows on his knees. “She should have never been sent into such a dangerous assignment.”

“No, she _should_ have been there. She did excellent until the slip up. It wasn’t really her fault. Her knife skills are impeccable.” Scott sighed. “It just did what some missions do.”

The two of them fell into silence as they sat there, waiting for something, anything. Loki began to pace after an hour. Dr. Banner came up and sat with them, after Scott filled him in, watching Loki closely. A nurse came out two hours after they had begun working on Cassandra and filled them in on the details of her recovery. “She is stable, you’ll be allowed into see her one at a time once we get her placed in the recovery room here.”

“I want to see her _now_.” Loki growled.

“That’s all well and good, but I want a patient who’s alive and well. You will wait until she is situated in the recovery bay.”

She turned and slammed the door in Loki’s face. Loki was realizing he didn’t like the thought of losing Cassandra. Logically, of course, he would lose her because of age. But that would be another fifty years, more if he could figure out how to help her get longevity. Losing her now, however, would devastate him.

Cassandra woke feeling like hell. She heard the beeping of a machine that sounded like it was keeping rhythm with her heartbeat, but she wasn’t sure what was happening. Her eyes slowly fluttered opened and she recognized she was in some sort of blurry medical setting. She went to lift her right arm to find her glasses and stopped, looking at all the wires and IV’s attached to it. Cassandra blinked a couple of times and turned her head to see the stand the bag of fluids was on and something that she assumed was pain medication.

Cassandra began trying to piece together what had happened. She remembered everything going wrong and calling in Scott. She remembered taking a life and the blood on her. She went to lift her left hand and it felt sluggish, like it was being held down by something. She looked to her left and saw the outline of Loki, sitting in a chair, holding onto her. She looked at her hand and didn’t see the blood she expected to see there. Then, she felt a rush of memories and pain in her stomach as she remembered the four gunshots going off. The burning sensation of one of them piercing her stomach and then nothing. She tried to move her right hand to where she remembered the bullet piercing her skin and found a large bandage there. She groaned and laid back. She had failed her first non-cultural mission epically. Cassandra searched for the button that would give her more pain medicine and pressed it, going back to sleep, careful not to wake Loki.

Cassandra woke again a few hours later to hushed arguing. “I am not leaving this room.” That sounded like Loki.

“You need to get some proper rest, let me sit with her.” That sounded like…Steve maybe. Definitely not Scott or Tony. She looked at saw through her poor eyesight it was _Thor_.

“I can take my meals in here. I do not mind being without rest. I will not leave until I am sure she is okay or can be put in our apartments.” Loki sounded worried. Cassandra stirred before Thor could say anything. Loki’s head snapped over and he was immediately sitting on the edge of the bed, stroking her hair back. “Pet!”

It was the first time he had used her pet name in front of anyone else, if she wasn’t in pain, she’d probably chastise him for it. She groaned a little. “What is happening?”

Steve spoke up. “Loki is being stubborn about leaving the room.”

Loki turned on him. “I told you I will not leave her side.”

“Loki, you need rest, too. If you’d rather I can get Natasha in here.”

“No, I will watch over Cassandra myself.” He was digging his heels in.

Cassandra spoke up softly. “Thor, can you just leave us for now?”

Steve threw up his hands and walked out of the room. Loki turned to Cassandra and held her left hand in his, kissing it. “I was so worried about you.”

“How long have I been asleep?”

“Since yesterday afternoon.” Cassandra made a soft noise. “I’ve been here as soon as the medical team let me in.”

“Loki…you need rest.” She smiled at him, feeling a little fuzzy from the pain meds and the feeling of being taken care of. “I am sure the rest of the team wants to see me as well.”

Loki frowned. “I just want to make sure you are well taken care of, pet.”

She smiled at him. “I will be, don’t you trust them yet?”

“Not one iota. Maybe Scott since he did save your life, but the rest of them put you in danger.”

“I put myself in danger, Loki. I asked to be reassigned, remember?”

Loki nodded. “Alright, alright. I’ll tell them Natasha can come in.”

He got up and left the room after giving her a kiss on the forehead. Natasha came in with a bowl of broth and a cup of warm tea twenty minutes later. “Hey. First gunshot wound. Gonna make bikinis a thing of the past.”

“Oh, yea, because I wore bikinis.” Cassandra gave a small laugh before groaning in pain. “Ow…”

Natasha told her to be careful and helped her sit up. “Just a little of these drinks, nothing too much, then it’s back to rest with you.”

Loki left Cassandra’s bedside with great reluctance and ran into Thor on his way out of the medical room. He sighed as his brother walked with him. “Brother.”

Thor nodded to him. “You need to take care of yourself as well, Loki.”

Loki sighed. “I know, but I’m just worried about her. I’m also so angry about this.”

“No one is to blame except the HYDRA operative that shot her. Scott’s report was very clear on that, brother.”

Loki’s face darkened. Logically he supposed Thor was right, but he had that feeling where he tended to not think clearly. He stepped outside and took in the sky. “Is this...how you…” His voice trailed off and he stopped himself.

“How I felt about Jane?” Loki nodded and Thor sighed. “Very much. I remember how worried I was when she took the Aether into her. I understand your fear.”

Loki nodded and crossed his arms, his head snapping to the right as he heard Steve approaching. Steve addressed them both, “How is she doing?”

Loki glared at Steve addressing them. “What does it matter to you?”

“She’s still part of the team. I care about every member of the team, Loki.”

“You should have never sent her.” He didn’t even notice Thor putting a hand on his shoulder as he dove at Steve, striking him across the chin. The two of them began to exchange blows. Loki was incensed with rage. Thor tried to grab him a few times but missed.

“Loki,” Banner’s warning came from the doorway. “I will do it again.” Loki let one more punch land on Steve before he pulled back, paling as his brain processed the threat. That was the last thing he wanted.

Loki’s hands went up as he turned and saw the rest of the team, sans Natasha, standing ready to attack him. Steve waved them all off. “He’s afraid. I’m fine.”

“Reassign her. No more dangerous assignments like this one.” Loki growled and pushed past Tony and Clint on his way up to the apartment.

Tony took in the scene and then nodded. “It isn’t Cassandra who was compromised.” Steve simply nodded as he leaned forward, rubbing his chin.

Cassandra fell back asleep after another dose of pain medication knocked her out. She had barely drank either of the liquids that she had been provided but Natasha assured her she was doing fine. She woke three hours later with her hand in Loki’s again. She smiled; he wasn’t going to stay away. Loki looked at her and smiled. “Hello again. Should I order you another round of liquids?” She nodded weakly as he moved her bed to a sitting position and handed her glasses over to her.

She put them on as he called down for someone to bring up something for her to eat. Cassandra smiled once his face came into focus. “Hey, you.”

“Hey.” He sat at the edge of her bed, careful of not nudging her stomach. “How are you, pet?”

“Tired. Sore.” Cassandra played with his hand. Happy to have him here.

“I have to tell you that I nearly got into a fight with Steve last night.”

“Loki…” There was a warning in her voice.

“I ended up not fighting him, but, I did probably overstep some boundary. I asked for you to be reassigned once you are healed to New Asgard. I want you doing a safe job.”

Cassandra sighed. “Trying to protect me I assume?” Loki nodded. “You know this was just an accident, right?”

“I do. But I almost lost you.” He whispered it, the words coming out slowly. Cassandra nodded. “I am sorry that I overstepped, but I am not sorry for trying to protect you.”

“It’s okay. I failed anyways.”

“You did not fail. As Scott put it, it went pear shaped.”

She laughed hearing him use an Earth colloquialism and stopped short at the pain in her stomach. “Ow. Think it’s going to be a while before I can laugh or do anything fun.”

“They said in a few days you might get to move to the apartment, and I can fully take care of you.”

It was only a couple of days before Cassandra was cleared to go to the apartment that she now shared with Thor as well as Loki. Loki held her arm as she insisted on walking to the elevator instead of being teleported. “Walking will make sure to prevent clotting.” She smiled at him. “Plus, it’s good for me to get my bearings back.”

Loki nodded. “Whatever you need, Cassandra.”

They walked into the apartment and she went to head to her room, not noticing Loki’s smirk. She stopped when she saw that all her effects had been moved and turned to look at him. “Where are my things?”

“Thor and I moved them into my room. I know it is a bit forward, however, I thought it would make things uh, easier.”

Cassandra smiled. “Come here and hug me.” She suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion and needed to lean on him more than hug him. He rubbed her back and helped her into what was now their room. “I need a shower. A good hot one.”

“The doctor said to be careful of your stitches.”

“I know, but a quick shower with your help should be fine.” She rolled her shoulders some. “I need clean clothes too. I feel sticky and gross, Loki.”

“Okay, okay.” Loki kissed the top of her head and then turned to get fresh clothes out for her and get a hot shower started. He helped her through the shower, even helping wash her hair and wrap it up after it was combed through. Loki lifted her up onto the bed and sat her up with the pillows behind her back. “There you are. Feel better?”

Cassandra nodded. “Much. I’d like to get some sleep if that’s okay with you.”

“Of course, you do not even have to ask, pet.” He helped her lay down and covered her, kissing her softly. “I love you.”

She smiled at him. “I love you, too, Loki.”

Loki left their room feeling much better than when he had taken her in there. She was beginning to trust him more. It gave him a sensation that he didn’t expect to feel, something akin to content. Loki sat down on the couch and looked over as Thor entered the apartment. “Thor, how goes the planning?”

“Go time is in three days. You’re to stay with Cassandra. Tony doesn’t want you in the lab while we are doing this time travel business.”

Loki nodded, crossing his arms. “Understood. And you?”

Thor sighed. “I’m traveling back to get the what I can from Asgard.”

Loki felt uneasy about the whole thing, as if something was going to happen to set other events in motion. “Messing with time…”

“I know, brother. But we can bring back so many. All the ones we lost of Asgard, Midgard, the whole of the 9 realms.”

“I understand the importance of the situation. I just worry that something is going to happen.”

“Which is why you are to stay with our injured friend. If anything goes wrong, take her to New Asgard, away from here.”

Loki nodded again. “She will not care for that, but I will do it.”

Three days later, Cassandra was doing her walk around the grounds with Loki behind her when she looked up and saw several alien ships appearing over the compound. “Loki…” She pointed, not noticing Loki going pale as he recognized those ships. He shook his head, that couldn’t be. Thanos was _dead_.

“Something has went wrong, come here pet.” He grabbed her. “I am teleporting you to New Asgard, you’re in no shape for fighting or for this…come.” Before she could protest, he had teleported them to his old house. He set her on the couch. “I need you to stay here, I will be back.”

Cassandra cried out. “Loki no!” She grabbed the nearest thing to her and threw it at him, a throw pillow. He deftly dodged it and teleported back to the compound. He felt compelled to help even if going toe-to-toe with Thanos could lead to his death.


	13. Chapter 13

Cassandra sat for hours on the couch, stunned that Loki had went back. He was terrified of death, she knew that, so why did he go back to fight what looked like an invasion by Thanos. She tried to find coverage on the television but none of it calmed her, so she turned it off. She began to bite her nails off, stressing over Loki. She was concerned for the rest of the team and had been pleased to see so many people brought back, she could hear the Asgardians greeting long lost friends and family outside. But Loki, Thanos would kill him if he got near him again.

She buried her head in her hands and began to sob. It had been three hours and she hadn’t heard from a single member of the team. They had already lost Natasha according to Clint. She didn’t know if she could handle any more loss. She curled up, careful of her stitches, and cried as she waited for any news at all.

Cassandra didn’t know when she fell asleep on the couch, but she must have cried herself into that state. She woke when she heard a strange noise. She opened her eyes to see, Loki walking through a gold ring with Dr. Strange behind him. She nearly flew off of the couch, leaping to Loki, her stitches be damned. He grabbed her tiredly and held her close to him. Dr. Strange spoke up. “I thought for sure they were lying to me.”

“Loki…” Cassandra ignored the remark from Dr. Strange and stroked Loki’s cheek. “Loki, please tell me you weren’t hurt!”

Loki carefully moved over to the couch. “I was not injured. I am just very, _very_ tired.”

Cassandra turned to Dr. Strange. “Thank you, thank you for bringing him to me.” She winced a little as she climbed next to him, the skin near her stitches stretching. “How is…everyone else?” Cassandra listened in horror as Dr. Strange conveyed what happened in the battle. Her hand went over her mouth when he told her of Tony’s demise. She hugged Loki, realizing how lucky she was to have him. “But, Thanos is…”

“Gone. Thanks to Tony.” Dr. Strange looked around before setting up another portal. “Thor is supposed to be in touch with you as soon as he’s available. The compound was destroyed so you two are to stay here.”

Cassandra just nodded and turned her attentions back to Loki. Stroking his cheek and kissing him after Dr. Strange’s portal closed. Loki held her close. “Careful you do not hurt yourself.”

  
Loki looked down at Cassandra asleep in his arms and sighed, pulling her a bit closer. The two of them had been assigned to New Asgard to help the people who were brought back assimilate. He was pleased that Steve had seen to it that Cassandra had a relatively safe job. Cassandra complained about it because of the cold in Norway this time of year, but he assured her she’d get used to it. She snuggled in closer, grabbing the blankets in her sleep and pulling them up tighter.

Cassandra whined a little in her sleep and Loki sighed. She must be having another bad dream. He knew these dreams well from his own near-death experience six years ago. Loki pressed his lips to her ear and whispered softly, trying to calm her in her sleep. “Shh, pet. I am here. You are safe.”

Cassandra’s eyes fluttered open and she blinked a few times, studying Loki’s face in the moonlight. “Sorry if I woke you.”

Loki shook his head. “I was already awake, pet.” He pressed his lips against her gently, trying to soothe her. She relaxed against him and sighed. Loki combed fingers through her hair. “What was it about this time?”

“Same stuff, just worry about getting shot again.” Loki nodded, his fingers working out a tangle as they got stuck in the curls. “I know now that I’m the head liaison for New Asgard it shouldn’t happen again, but the dreams still come nonetheless.”

Loki understood entirely. “I understand.” He kissed her again. “Maybe I can get your mind off of it somehow?”

Cassandra gave a sleepy laugh. “Loki…”

“What?” His hand went down to the hem of her night shirt, sliding his hand over her thigh, her hip, and stopping at her waist. “I cannot help it that I find you so sexy.”

Cassandra lifted up on her elbow, staring at him. “You are so strange.” She kissed him before he could respond and he grabbed her leg, pulling her on top of him. Cassandra gave a weak protest to being manhandled, kissing him a little deeper. “Maybe you can distract me…”

“Good that is just what I was hoping you would say.” He tugged her night shirt up and off of her, causing her to shiver. Loki smiled as his hands immediately went to her breasts, tugging at her cold-hardened nipples causing her to moan softly. Her hips rocked against him and he moaned as she pressed against him. “Oh, it seems you want this too.”

“Of course, I want you, you’re…just…” Cassandra’s voice trailed off as he pulled her down, taking one of her nipples in his mouth. Loki dragged his teeth gently across it before sucking on it gently. He moaned and slid one hand to her hip, pulling her down so she was grinding against him. A gasp escaped her lips and she dug a hand in his hair, tugging lightly and moaning his name. He grinned as he switched nipples, nipping a little harder.

Loki dug his fingers into her hip, holding onto her tight as he teased her nipples. He pulled back and taking in her profile in the moonlight. All he could think was how beautiful she was and how badly he wanted her. His hands moved to the top hem of her panties and pulled at them, she obliged helping him get them off and then straddled him again.

Cassandra placed her hands on Loki’s chest, grinding her hips against him again. She moaned when he pressed up against her, his hands holding onto her hips. “Cassandra…” He growled in warning. She ignored the warning tone, rocking her hips again. Loki suddenly flipped her on her back, biting at the top of one of her breasts. Cassandra cried out as he bit down and grabbed his hair, tugging at it, only slightly regretting playing with fire by trying to tease him.

“Loki…” He growled, biting a bit harder making her sure there’d be a mark left behind. Loki slid a hand down her side and dug his fingers into his thigh. “You’re marking me…”

Loki only released the skin when he was sure there’d be a visible mark within minutes. “It is in a place that we agreed.” Cassandra pulled him up, kissing him roughly. “I also do not like when you tease me.”

“Yes, you do, cause of how wet—” Loki did something with his fingers that cut her off and she moaned into the pillow.

Loki leaned down and pressed his lips to hers for the briefest moment before whispering. “I only teasing on my terms.” His fingers withdrew and she whined at the emptiness. “Patience.” He kissed her again before sliding his pants off. “Roll over.” She rolled onto her stomach without a moment of hesitation, he grabbed her hips and pulled them up. “On your knees.”

Cassandra did as she was told. “I like you like this.”

His fingers began exploring her folds from behind. “Like what, pet?”

She moaned her answer, “Assertive.”

Loki smirked at Cassandra’s answer and rewarded her with two fingers going deep inside her again. He stroked at just the right angle, causing her to squirm and push back against him. “I can be that at any time you wish.”

She nodded against the pillow, moaning loudly. “Yes, please.”

Loki smiled, taking a moment to bookmark in his memory to ask her more about things when she wasn’t in a state of ecstasy. He pulled his fingers out and replaced them slowly with his cock. Cassandra moaned and pushed back forcing him the rest of the way in. Loki swore, gripping her hips with both hands. “Cassandra!” She made a moaning laugh into her pillow and Loki slapped one side of her ass, hard enough to make her moan but not to hurt her. He began to move in her, holding her still by her hips so she couldn’t thrust back on him again like that. Loki wanted to be the one controlling the thrusts. He smirked as he felt her try to break free of his grasp.

“Loki…” Cassandra was on her forearms, trying to push back. “Let me…”

“No, we are going to go at my pace.” He began to move slower, torturing them both as he teased her. “You feel so good, pet.”

Loki couldn’t last long teasing her, he began to pick up the pace after a short while. His pace becoming a bit more forceful the closer he got to release. He reached a hand forward and grabbed Cassandra by the back of the hair, pulling as he thrust as deep as he could in her to release. Cassandra gasped at being grabbed and then moaned loudly as she felt him fill her up. “Loki…”

Cassandra was released a few moments later and Loki collapsed beside her, breathing heavy. She fell forward, her legs splaying out and looked over at him, a smile playing in her eyes. Loki smiled back and leaned over giving her another kiss. “You are without a doubt the best thing on Midgard.” He gestured for her to move into his arms. She scooted over, shifting so that her front was pressed up against his side.

Cassandra relaxed into him and wrapped herself around him as their breathing normalized. “I love you, Loki.” He folded his hands behind his head, basking in the adoration pouring from Cassandra.

Cassandra woke to a cold and empty bed. She sat up, blurrily looking around for Loki. He must be making their breakfast. She climbed out of bed, shivering since she was now naked, and quickly got dressed in her flannel pajama bottoms and night shirt. The smell of coffee finally reached her nose and she sighed. “Loki?” She inquired as she stepped out into the living room and headed to the kitchen.

“Yes, pet?” Loki was standing by the stove attempting to make them a breakfast of bacon and French toast.

Cassandra grinned and hugged him from behind before taking her daily detour to the coffee machine. “Thank you.”

“Of course. If I can get this right, it will be a miracle. I may require you to take over the French toast.” Cassandra laughed and nodded as she poured the creamer in her coffee. “I think it is like baking, not something I am able to manage.”

Cassandra got up on her tiptoes and kissed Loki’s cheek. “Just let me get some of this in me and then I’ll be all over the French toast.”

Cassandra took over making the breakfast while Loki set the table. It was the weekend so there wasn’t anything for either of them to do except to enjoy each other’s company. Cassandra watched Loki for a moment, smiling as she realized she was going to spend the rest of her life by his side.


End file.
